In true 5 Nights at Freddy’s trend, the manufacturing of the primary FNAF film was needlessly convoluted. The film was introduced again in 2015, to be produced by Warner Bros. with sequence creator Scott Cawthon concerned within the challenge. Two years later, the film rights have been turned over to Blumhouse, proper earlier than Cawthon introduced that the challenge was canceled altogether (clearly, he was simply trolling). The film was finally launched in 2023, starring Matthew Lillard, Josh Hutcherson, and, most significantly, MatPat. The sequel got here out in 2025.
However what did the primary 5 Nights at Freddy’s film appear to be in its early Warner Bros. days? YouTube DIY channel Geek Garage has some insights.
Within the channel’s newest Patreon giveaway, Geek Storage despatched out a really early model of the 5 Nights at Freddy’s film script, signed by Matthew Lillard, to 1 fortunate recipient. As they defined in a Patreon post, the oldsters at Geek Storage beforehand labored within the movie trade, “and as such have obtained some wonderful unique props, collectibles, and scripts in our private assortment.”
The screenplay in query was written by Gil Kenan and Tyler Burton Smith someday between 2015 and 2017. In line with Invoice and Andrea at Geek Storage, “The story adopted a gaggle of 4 nerdy associates who referred to as themselves ‘The Warlocks’ and made YouTube movies collectively. After stumbling upon the story of the useless safety guard (Mike, whose demise occurs within the first few pages) and 5 lacking youngsters, the group decides to sneak out to the previous deserted pizzeria to research what actually occurred. Additionally the proprietor was a completely completely different character, there was no William Afton within the script in any respect, which is ironic since we finally had Matt signal it.”
“Total, I keep in mind it having extra of a gaggle vibe like The Goonies or Stranger Issues with a fairly typical setup/story and lacked actual faithfulness to the supply materials and FNAF lore.”
As has been documented, the screenplay went by way of many wildly completely different iterations throughout preproduction (the “Silver Eyes” screenplay, the “Ghost Trackers” screenplay, and so forth), and it’s unclear precisely which version of the script that is, as Invoice and Andrea keep in mind parts from a number of iterations. “I recall the script did have a complete underground workshop and even an underground amusement park…I additionally keep in mind the primary child’s household was transferring away from their city and he might need had a single mother…the plot was fairly acquainted and used a number of storytelling tropes so my reminiscence is a bit hazy because it’s been fairly some time since I learn it.”
It looks like that’s all the knowledge we’ll get about this unusual early model of the script. Geek Storage and the screenplay recipient understandably want to keep away from copyright infringement, and received’t be discussing the script any additional. “We’re not gatekeeping,” Geek Storage says. “We’re simply following the legislation.”
