Five Nights at Freddy's 2 contains a vital reveal about the identity of Mike Schmidt. The horror films bring to life Scott Cawthon's popular video game franchise about haunted animatronics in an abandoned pizzeria. The main character, played by Josh Hutcherson in the movie, has long been a source of speculation among fans of the game, as the name Mike Schmidt has deeper connotations in the lore.
The second Five Nights at Freddy's film continues the story of Schmidt and his younger sister Abby (Piper Rubio) as they attempt to move on from the traumatic events at Freddy's Pizzeria a year prior. Following the reveals from the first film that the villain, William Afton (Matthew Lillard), was the one who hired Schmidt as a security guard at Freddy's, and that his child was secretly Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), many wondered how Mike fit into this larger picture.
Warning - This article contains spoilers for Five Nights at Freddy's 2.
Is Mike Schmidt Michael Afton In the Games & Movies? Identity Explained
In the Five Nights at Freddy's games, Mike Schmidt is a significant character in the lore. Serving as the player character in the first game, all that's known about Mike is that he is the security officer hired to watch over the pizzeria at night and must survive the haunted animatronics to win the game.
Similarly, in the films, Hutcherson's character is hired as a security officer at the abandoned Freddy's Pizzeria, where he eventually uncovers the secrets of the place and the mystery of his missing brother.
Throughout the many installments of the Five Nights at Freddy's video game franchise, it became clear that Mike Schmidt is secretly Michael Afton, the son of William Afton (also known as Springtrap and the orchestrator of all the animatronics). In the games, it's known that William did have a son named Michael. In the later Freddy's games, including Five Nights at Freddy's 4 and Sister Location, Mike becomes an integral character again, and it's revealed that the last name Schmidt was just an alias covering up his connection to the Afton family.
In the FNAF film, many wondered whether Hutcherson's character would be confirmed as the secret son of Afton. It was revealed in the first film that the two had history, as William Afton was responsible for kidnapping and murdering Mike's brother, Garrett. However, the second Five Nights at Freddy's film has now set the record straight on Mike Schmidt's real identity in the film franchise.
It is now confirmed that Hutcherson's character is not related to Afton, as the film instead introduces a new security guard, Michael (Freddy Carter), who works at the original Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. Michael is the one who welcomes Lisa and her fellow Spectral Spookers videographers into the haunted pizzeria. Upon meeting them, Lisa refers to Michael as Mike, to which he adamantly disagrees, telling them to "call me Michael," which also differentiates him from Hutcherson's Mike.
After Michael watches as the animatronics kill the Spectral Spookers (and, in Lisa's case, she is possessed by the Marionette), he vanishes from the majority of the film. However, he returns in the third act climax as the Toy animatronics and the Withereds arrive at Mike's house. Michael is revealed to be the one controlling the animatronics, and he confirms his true identity to be Michael Afton, the son of William and Vanessa's brother.
Unlike Vanessa, Michael wants to continue his father's legacy, and he appeals to his sister, asking her to join him in that quest. Vanessa refuses, so Michael sets the animatronics upon Mike, Abby, and Vanessa, but they are saved by Abby's friends, Freddy, Foxy, Chica, and Bonnie, from the original film. Michael then tries to escape, but is knocked out by Jeremiah (Theodus Crane). By the end of the film, he has disappeared.
Rather than linking Mike Schmidt to his nemesis, William Afton, as is the case in the games, the FNAF movies separate the character into two distinct individuals: Hutcherson's Mike and Carter's Michael.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 takes a significant departure from the lore of the FNAF games with Mike by separating the character from the game into two distinct individuals. One is the major hero of the franchise, while the other serves as a villain who wants to continue his father's legacy. Meanwhile, in the games, Michael Afton doesn't seem to want anything to do with his father's past, which is the role Vanessa fulfils in the film franchise.
With William nowhere to be seen at the end of FNAF 2, it seems the likely third film will be setting up for a family reunion - at least if the FNAF 2 post-credits scene is anything to go by.
