Josh Hutcherson Teases ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ as ‘Scarier’ Than Original, With ‘Different Animatronics Being Brought In’

Josh Hutcherson has offered some intel on the sequel to “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” teasing that “it’s gonna be scarier” than the first movie.

“It’s much bigger; the stakes are higher,” Hutcherson told Esquire. “There’s more animatronics being brought in, different animatronics being brought in, and the world just opens up in a big way.”

He added, “We’re finding the balance right now of building this world and expanding it in a really cool way but also making sure the characters stay really grounded. That’s something that I really think that we all fought for in the first film, because this world that was created in ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s,’ it’s so out-there. It’s so over-the-top and wacky, in a way, that to find the emotional truth of the characters was gonna be what was gonna work.”

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“Five Nights at Freddy’s,” which debuted in October 2023, became of the year’s box office success stories with nearly $300 million worldwide against a reported $20 million budget, despite opening day-and-date on Peacock. The sequel, which is said to follow the events of the second video game in the “FNAF” franchise, is set to open in theaters on Dec. 5, 2025.

“I think the fans are gonna flip for it,” Hutcherson said of the sequel. “It’s gonna be a lot of fun with the source. It’s gonna be scarier, too, actually.”

Directed by Emma Tammi (who is returning for the sequel), “Five Nights at Freddy’s” follows Mike (Hutcherson), a security guard working the graveyard shift at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, an abandoned arcade restaurant. Mike, whose younger brother was abducted as a kid, soon learns that the pizzeria’s cuddly mascots are actually murderous robots controlled by “ghost children,” and he must save his younger sister Abby before she becomes the next victim.

As the video game franchise boasts a total of 21 titles (10 mainline games plus various spinoffs), the source material is vast for additional movie sequels. Asked by Esquire if he will return for more “FNAF” films after the second one, Hutcherson said, “You never know. I mean, I love working in this world. Emma Tammi, our director, is phenomenal, and with my character, Mike, I think the possibilities are endless. This could have a very potentially long run and it could be a lot of fun, but at this point we’re focusing on the second movie. We’ll see what comes after that.”

“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” hails from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions.