While details are currently slim (and they surely will be for some time), we have a few little tidbits regarding Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. For those who need a recap, Blumhouse and Universal released a live-action adaptation of Scott Cawthon’s wildly popular series of video games last year to hugely profitable results. Naturally, a sequel was put on the fast track, with production expected to begin any time now. It appears we have an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” situation as the follow-up will be sticking with a PG-13 rating, rather than pushing it into R rated territory.
This according to Scream star Matthew Lillard, who plays Steve Raglan/William Afton in the first film. The actor recently spoke with Forbes and divulged what little he could about Freddy’s 2. While he couldn’t say much, the outlet notes, “One thing the Hackers actor confirmed was that, like the first film, the sequel would be PG-13 rather than a harder R rating.” Milage is going to vary on that nugget as some people wanted a little more overt carnage. At the same time, it’s hard to argue with results.
After posting Blumhouse’s biggest global opening ever, director Emma Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s went on to make nearly $300 million at the global box office against a mere $20 million budget. Mind you, the movie was also streaming on Peacock in the U.S. from the jump, making that figure all the more impressive. So Blumhouse and Universal have little motivation to push for an R rating here. Speaking further, Lillard teased that the filmmakers are leaning into what worked the first time around.
“I will say that I think the filmmakers have done a great job of learning from the first movie of what fans want, and I think they're giving a lot more of that. It's going to be more exciting, and I think it's going to have more action. It's going to have a lot of character development stuff. It's hard to kiss around it. I think the story ends, and this movie ends in a really exciting way.”
“The business reality is that here's a huge hit movie, you have a feeling they're probably going to make more of them,” Lillard added. “I think they do a good job in the second film, making sure that people will want more.”
Tammi is returning to the director’s chair for the sequel, which is currently due to hit theaters in December 2025. Plot details currently remain under wraps but all of the core cast members are expected to return, including Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail and Piper Rubio. Unless the sequel somehow tanks (which feels very unlikely), it’s believed that Blumhouse is at least planning a full trilogy. Cawthon’s games certainly provide plenty of story to mine from so, depending on how things pan out, a trilogy could just be the start. But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is currently set to hit theaters on December 5, 2025. For more, check out the mysterious first look at the sequel shared recently by Scott Cawthon.
