Five Nights at Freddy's star Josh Hutcherson is dropping some hints about the upcoming sequel, teasing that it will be both "bigger" and "scarier" than its predecessor when it hits theaters sometime next year.
Hutcherson, who's headed to New Orleans to start the three-month shoot in just a few weeks, spoke about the film in a new interview with Esquire, calling it "much bigger; the stakes are higher."
“There’s more animatronics being brought in, different animatronics being brought in, and the world just opens up in a big way," he continued. "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 grounded approach, Hutcherson said, is something the team really "fought for" in the first Five Nights at Freddy's film, given how "out-there" the world of the wildly popular games is.
"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," he said. "I think the fans are gonna flip for it. It’s gonna be a lot of fun with the source. It’s gonna be scarier, too, actually.”
That last sentence should be good news to fans, some of which bemoaned the lack of scares in the PG-13 film. IGN was among those to call it out in our 4/10 review, with A.A. Dowd writing that it had "has too much plot and not enough of the game's primal security-cam thrills."
"I think the fans are gonna flip for it. It’s gonna be a lot of fun with the source."
Negative reviews didn't stop Five Nights at Freddy's from becoming a smash hit, however. It broke multiple box office records on its way to $291 million worldwide. It's currently the biggest film ever for Blumhouse Productions, the prolific horror studio behind the video game adaptation.
Hutcherson is returning in the sequel as Mike, the down-on-his-luck security guard who unforunately got assigned to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, drawing him and his little sister into the frightening world of the animatronics there. When asked in the Esquire interview if he might be game to return for more Five Nights at Freddy's beyond the sequel, given the incredibly vast lore that's been built across the games and tie-in material, Hutcherson played it coy, telling the publication that "you never know."
“I mean, I love working in this world," he said. "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.”
For more on Five Nights at Freddy's 2 in the meantime, check out the previous first look at the sequel, including some early glimpses at a new animatronic and the first page of the screenplay.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.