FNAF 3 Update Hints The Horror Movie Will Finally Redeem FNAF 2’s Biggest Letdown

So, here we go again—Five Nights at Freddy's is getting a third movie, and apparently the filmmakers have actually been listening to fans this time. If you were one of the many who thought the second film dropped the ball, especially when it came to two of its biggest characters, there’s good news on the horizon.

The Reunion Fans Wanted (And Didn’t Get, Until Now)

At For the Love of Horror, a convention over in Manchester, England, two of the franchise’s stars — Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard — basically let it slip that they’ll both be back for Five Nights at Freddy's 3. If that doesn’t sound like a big deal to you, let me break it down: Lillard (as the resident franchise baddie William Afton) and Ulrich (as Henry Emily, business partner-turned-rival and also dad to Charlotte, aka the Marionette-possessed kid) have a ton of history. Not just within FNAF, but as alums of the original Scream back in the day. I know, horror franchise cross-pollination: catnip for genre nerds.

So why is this a correction? Well, their much-hyped “reunion” in FNAF 2 didn’t really materialize. Fans wanted actual scenes with the two legends playing off each other, and what they got was a whole lot of... well, nothing. Lillard's Afton had like three dream sequences, a couple gloomy flashbacks, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tease at the very end. The big face-off? Never happened.

At this Manchester panel, Lillard even joked about murdering Ulrich's character, which, in FNAF world, is pretty on-brand. And yeah, the crowd ate it up. If you’re into fan service, it looks like FNAF 3 is aiming straight for your nostalgia circuits. Might even call it a do-over for the “Scream reunion” that got everyone hyped when casting was first announced.

Who’s Who in the FNAF-verse

• Matthew Lillard: William Afton (the purple-suited evil genius, franchise boogeyman)
• Skeet Ulrich: Henry Emily (Afton's old business partner, father of Charlotte/the Marionette)
• Josh Hutcherson: Lead franchise survivor/dude with troubles
• Piper Rubio, Elizabeth Lail, Mary Stuart Masterson: Key supporting players
• Sequel newbies: Freddy Carter, Theodus Crane, Wayne Knight, Mckenna Grace

Both movies so far have been directed by Emma Tammi, with Scott Cawthon himself writing the screenplay — he's the original FNAF video game creator, so whatever plot twists happen, you know he’s signing off on all the weirdness.

Critical Reaction: Split, To Say the Least

The franchise has never exactly been a critical darling (hello, 16% on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer for the latest one), but that hasn’t stopped the fans. The sequel somehow scored an 83% "Popcornmeter" audience rating, which just proves that if you put killer animatronics onscreen, people show up.

'I’m gonna kill you,' Lillard joked to Ulrich during the panel, and if there was one moment that summed up the fandom’s energy, that was it.

So, if you wanted classic horror actors actually bouncing off each other in this franchise instead of just passing in the night, FNAF 3 is looking to mend that (and maybe finally cash in on some overdue Scream nostalgia). No firm release date yet, but this is one to watch — and not just to see who survives to the end credits this time.