Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is set to do something the franchise has never really done before: take the killer animatronics (of which there are many) out of their usual haunted setting and put them smack dab into the public for everyone to see. This twist will undoubtedly give fans of the series something to write home about when the movie lands in theaters on December 5, 2025.
The film brings back the cast of the first installment, including Josh Hutcherson (Mike Schmidt), Elizabeth Lail (Vanessa), Piper Rubio (Abby), Matthew Lillard (William Afton), and more. There will also be new faces added to the mix, including Skeet Ulrich, McKenna Grace, Megan Fox, Kellen Goff, and YouTuber MatPat.
FNAF 2 director Emma Tammi spoke with The Direct in an interview at New York Comic-Con (NYCC) 2025, where she teased that "Seeing them out in the world gives them a new environment to interact with," adding how "it's pretty hilarious and scary and all the things you hope it would be."
The full interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim can be read and watched below.
Taking the Animatronics Out Into the Real World
"It's Pretty Hilarious and Scary..."
- The Direct: "The movie transcends the game franchise by taking the animatronics out into the real world in a significant way, kind of for the first time. Can you just talk about how that really does give this film a unique place in the franchise?"
Emma Tammi: Well, I think they'll be excited about how many animatronics there are in the second one and how they're lifted from the second game. So there's the direct connection there. But, yeah, seeing them out in the world gives them a new environment to interact with. And it's pretty hilarious and scary and all the things you hope it would be.
Bringing Mangle to Life in FNAF 2
"Mangle Looked So Dang Cool."
- The Direct: "One of the main animatronics in this new one is Mangle, who seems like a very difficult animatronic to bring to life, especially with how the first one is very much like they're real, in-person animatronics, they're physical. So what was that process like of creating Mangle and making sure it lived up to what you guys have already done with these other animatronics?"
Emma Tammi: It was so exciting, but it was a huge lift. And I have to say, like that was the most exciting animatronic we have up on set, because anytime we were doing a full body shot, you know, we'd have like upwards of 13 people working on Mangel. It was this huge effort. Mangle looked so dang cool. It was very technical. It was very slow. At times, because there's so much preparation, a lot of coordination between stuns, riggers, puppeteers. I mean, big team effort, but it was so satisfying.
FNAF 2 Will Have More YouTube Stars To Look Forward To
"You Might Be Able to See a Recognizable Face or Two
- The Direct: "The first movie featured some of the biggest Five Nights at Freddy's YouTubers, will the second maybe, will some more faces pop up in that regard? I know you can't say who it is, but can we hope to maybe see some more things like that?"
Emma Tammi: Yes, I do think you might be able to see a recognizable face or two.
- The Direct: "Hypothetically, let's just pretend that you will go back for another adventure in this world. Knowing the lore of the game, is there an animatronic that you would just you're just dying to see realized in a film that we just haven't been able to touch yet?"
Emma Tammi: I actually feel like I kind of like discover a new FNAF animatronic every week. I'm like, I think I know all of them. And then a new one pops up. And I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I haven't seen that one yet.' So I feel like there's a wealth of potential characters we could pull from.
The full video interview can be seen here:
Fans of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise will be excited to know that if rumors are true, there will be plenty more FNAF projects in the future.
