The movie adaptation of horror game franchise Five Nights at Freddy’s is just a few months away from its October 27 debut, and like many video game films, production on it has been in the works since at least 2015. Now, with Jason Blum (The Purge, Split, M3GAN) producing it, it’s finally got a release date, though it wasn’t an easy road to get there. According to a new interview, Blum was “made fun of” for taking on the project.
Originally released on Windows PC in 2014, Five Nights at Freddy’s is a spooky point-and-click adventure game set in a fictional pizzeria beset by possessed animatronics who stalk the premise at night. Played mostly through security cameras, players must survive evening after evening with the deadly robot animals. The series has gotten three main sequels and a bunch of spin-offs, with versions coming to consoles, mobile platforms, and even VR headsets.
In 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. Pictures would bring the franchise to theaters via a film adaptation, though initial efforts fell through. Eventually the IP landed with Universal Pictures, with Emma Tammi and Jason Blum taking on director and producer roles respectively.
Jason Blum on FNaF film: ‘Everyone said we could never get the movie done’
Speaking to IGN, producer Jason Blum reflected on the difficult task of bringing Five Nights at Freddy’s to the big screen. Blum said that after the film struggled to find its footing early on, there was a sentiment that it was a lost cause.
“Everyone said we could never get the movie done,” Blum told IGN, “including, by the way, internally in my company.” But never shy of a challenge, Blum pushed forward, even if folks joked about the film’s prospects:
“I was made fun of for pursuing this, this thing that could never happen, and that always lights a fire under me to say, ‘I bet I can do this.’”
Blum on working with series’ creator Scott Cawthon for the FNaF film
Blum also reflected on what it was like to work with Scott Cawthon over the last few years. Saying that he’s “a really, really special person, a really creative person, probably more creative than he even gives himself credit for in some ways.” Getting the film’s aesthetic right was no easy task, but Blum feels strongly about the final product. “We finally found it,” he said “and we finally made the movie […] as you can hear by my voice, I’m extremely proud of the movie that we made together.”
Five Nights at Freddy’s arrives in theaters on October 27, 2023.