FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2: Release Date, Cast, Plot, And Everything We Know
Adapting one of horror's most beloved and convoluted gaming franchises is no easy task, but it's one Emma Tammi took on in 2023 with Five Nights at Freddy's, which quickly became Blumhouse's biggest release. Based on the survival game of the same name by Scott Cawthon, Five Nights at Freddy's follows security guard Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), who takes on the night shift at the abandoned Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. He soon discovers that the eatery's animatronic mascots are the ghosts of children murdered by a prolific serial killer, and he must survive five nights in the pizzeria while uncovering the truth about the murders, all while aided by his younger sister Abby (Piper Rubio) and police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail).
Despite taking a wild variation from the first game, Five Nights at Freddy's proved to be a huge box office success, and a second film was confirmed soon after, introducing more lore from the gaming franchise while continuing the story established in the first film. With Five Nights at Freddy's 2 right around the corner, FANGORIA rounds up everything you need to know about the eagerly anticipated sequel, from release date to cast, trailer details, and the key differences between the game and big screen adaptation.
Release date
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 will be released in cinemas on December 5, 2025. While the first film arrived in cinemas and on streaming on the same date, the sequel will have an exclusive theatrical release before eventually arriving on streaming. It comes a week before the release of two more eagerly anticipated genre movies – the remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night, and the sequel to Influencer, aptly titled Influencers.
Plot
The official synopsis for Five Nights at Freddy's 2 reads: “One year has passed since the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The stories about what transpired there have been twisted into a campy local legend, inspiring the town's first-ever Fazfest. Former security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) have kept the truth from Mike's 11-year-old sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), concerning the fate of her animatronic friends. But when Abby sneaks out to reconnect with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, it will set into motion a terrifying series of events, revealing dark secrets about the true origin of Freddy's, and unleashing a long-forgotten horror hidden away for decades.”
Lead star Hutcherson recently teased that the sequel will be more horror-focused than its predecessor, telling Esquire: “It's much bigger; the stakes are higher. There's more animatronics being brought in, different animatronics being brought in, and the world just opens up in a big way.” He continued: “It's so over-the-top and wacky, in a way, that to find the emotional truth of the characters was gonna be what was gonna work. I think the fans are gonna flip for it. It's gonna be a lot of fun with the source. It's gonna be scarier, too, actually.”
Is it based on the second Five Nights at Freddy's 2 game?
The upcoming Five Nights at Freddy's 2 movie is based on the game of the same name, but there will be some notable differences between the two, much like the first film. Firstly, the film will expand the story beyond the world of the pizzeria with the animatronics branching out into the real world, something we do not see in the game franchise. However, it will still be incorporating more of the game's lore for fans to explore. It is also set to include more game-accurate details and animatronics.
In the games, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is a prequel, whereas the film is set to take place one year after the events of Five Nights at Freddy's, though it will likely include some prequel elements in the form of flashbacks. Glimpses we get of Matthew Lillard's William Afton in the trailer suggest we'll get some backstory on his character and his early years in the Springtrap animatronic suit. It has also been theorized that McKenna Grace, who has joined the cast in an undisclosed role, will play a younger version of Lail's character, Vanessa Shelly, possibly indicating the film will feature multiple flashbacks to delve into the game's rich backstory.
Cast
Hutcherson, Lail, and Rubio are all set to reprise their roles from the original film alongside William Afton star Lillard after the four of them signed three-picture deals with the studio. There is a raft of new faces joining the cast, including Skeet Ulrich, marking a surprise Scream reunion alongside Lillard. The horror icon joined the cast of Five Nights at Freddy's onstage at their San Diego Comic-Con panel, expressing his excitement to be joining the sequel. He said, “I can't tell you how honored I am to be a part of this family and to be a part of the fandom now that is really voracious, so thank you.”
Speaking about the reunion of the legendary Ghostface killers, director Tammi told Collider: “It wasn't a coincidence, but it felt like, still, a serendipitous happening. I'm, like, pinching myself even thinking that this is what we're talking about. But Skeet's name was brought up when we were talking about one of the new characters in the film, and, of course, we went to Matt right away and asked how he felt about Skeet as a potential bud in the franchise. Of course, he was just gushing over him in every way, personally, professionally, and also got very excited about the idea of this reunion of sorts. It just worked. It worked out, and we're so lucky to have them, both of them.”
Other new members of the cast include Jurassic Park's Wayne Knight, Annabelle Comes Home star McKenna Grace, and Chucky and Final Destination Bloodlines' Teo Briones. The voice cast is similarly starry for the terrifying animatronics, with the likes of Jennifer's Body icon Megan Fox, Spooky Month's Kellen Goff, and internet personality Matthew Patrick.
Trailer
A teaser trailer that debuted at CinemaCon began with a voiceover announcing that the show is about to start before cutting to Hutcherson's Mike as he reads a note from Abby about fixing her animatronic friends. It introduces the more intense horror elements that have been promised in the new film, something that is heightened in a full trailer released back in July. The nightmarish trailer gives fans a glimpse of the animatronics getting as bloodthirsty as ever, while we catch up with what Mike has been doing in the year since the events of the first film.
Released last month, another trailer shows Vanessa waking from a nightmare in which she is running away from her father, Afton, as a child. We later see her uncovering more about her father's dark past, while Miuke investigates the missing children linked to Freddy Fazbear's. We also see flashbacks of Afton in his Springtrap costume, planning to build the animatronic creatures in preparation to start kidnapping children. A scene of Ulrich in the trailer seems to suggest he is set to play Henry Emily, Afton's business partner from the Five Nights At Freddy's game franchise. In the games, his daughter Victoria is the first child to be kidnapped by Afton, and in the trailer, he tells Mike and Vanessa that his daughter went missing two years before Mike's brother did.
Five Nights At Freddy's 2 is in theaters December 5.
