The first trailer for the Five Nights at Freddy's movie has apparently leaked online, available to watch from start to finish. While there's no confirmation that this is the real deal, it certainly looks the part, showing Josh Hutcherson starring as the security guard.
The trailer, if it's legitimate, would be our best look at the Five Nights at Freddy's movie so far. It introduces us to the set-up that fans of the game series will be all too familiar with, as a security guard unwittingly signs up for the night shift from hell. The best bit of all is that it also gives us a decent look at the iconic animatronics themselves, and it looks like they're even more terrifying in live-action.
Unsurprisingly, since this is a feature-length movie, it seems that this adaptation will take the security guard, Mike Schmidt, out of the CCTV room. At least Hutcherson will be able to stretch his legs. Due to this, it looks like the film will be full of lore about how Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria came to be as awful as it is.
Given the poor quality of the video, it's pretty hard to tell what's going on. However, as you can hear towards the end, whoever recorded the leak believes they can spot Springtrap at the end. Judging from what we can see, it definitely seems that this is the case, with the film shoving in yet another animatronic. In the games, Springtrap wouldn't appear until the third instalment, so it seems that the writers are drawing upon all of the titles at once, rather than retelling them in order.
If it feels like the film was announced ages ago, it's because it was. We first learned of a Five Nights at Freddy's film being made in 2015, only for it to get delayed several times before it could even enter production. This is partially due to creative differences between the studio and the FNAF creator, Scott Cawthon. It has previously been said that any potential script needed his complete approval, resulting in several being scrapped during the film's production. This lengthy, troubled development also meant that many key figures would leave the project over the years, needing to be replaced.
While it's not clear if it impacted the film's production at all, Cawthon's controversial exit from the gaming industry would have hardly helped the situation. Back in 2021, it came to light that Cawthon had almost exclusively made political donations to far-right, anti-LGBTQ Republicans, including Donald Trump. When explaining his views, he admitted to being anti-abortion. After this came to light, he announced that he would be leaving the industry. Despite this, it seems he retained an active role in the film's production.