Stuck in development for years, it seems the film adaptation of the horror video game “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is finally going forward according to game creator Scott Cawthon.
The game challenges players to survive for five nights as a security guard in a demented pizza-themed family entertainment restaurant where the animatronic creatures turn homicidal at night and roam the halls in search of their next victims.
Appearing on Reddit, Cawthon says the project now has a finished screenplay and that filming will begin filming next spring with Chris Columbus attached to direct for Blumhouse Productions.
He also discussed the different versions of the script that have come and gone over the years of development with some from himself, some from big studios, hired writers, major directors, and so on. He himself tried to adapt using material from the books but couldn’t make it work.
One version he dubs the “Plushies take Manhattan” screenplay, one spanning multiple time-periods and characters that was simply too much, one with amateur ghost-trackers trapped inside, and one about teens breaking into Freddy’s and finding a sinister weaponised animatronics factory in a bunker underneath. The closest one got involved a kid in a pawn shop which receives one of the stolen robots and the other robots come to get it back.
Ultimately they went with a script dubbed ‘Mike’ about which he says:
“Basic Setup: Hmmmm. This makes sense. Why didn’t I think of this before? Problems: Actually this is a good mix… it has the best pieces from all the previous screenplays… Not really any problems here. All the right characters, all the right motivations, all the right stakes… Verdict: Yeah, we’re going with this one. It’s fun, it’s scary, and it has a great central story!”
The comments come as a movie boasting a similar premise, “Willy’s Wonderland” staring Nicolas Cage, has been filmed and will hit screens next year.