“That’s always been the plan”: Matthew Lillard is hopeful of Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 after his brief role in the sequel

Five Nights at Freddy’s and its sequel may not have had very good nights with the critics, but both films made sure that they exploded at the global box office. The 2023 film adaptation of the video game series of the same name was made on a $20 million budget and made almost 15 times that, currently sitting with $291 million in earnings.

Now, its sequel is out and it opened post-Thanksgiving with $63 million, becoming the top film of the weekend. It's expected to do well in coming days, and, considering that, we can safely start talking about its sequel. Now, there isn't any official confirmation about that, but hear what Matthew Lillard had to say about it. He told ComingSoon in an interview that,

"Don’t hold your breath to seeing a lot of William Afton [in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2]. Like Star Wars or Harry Potter, Voldemort or Darth Vader, they both sort of show up later in the series. So, unfortunately for me, I don’t have a huge part in it. I do think the stuff I get to do is fantastic. I love it. Our hope is that we get to do three films. That’s always been the plan. Everything is dependent on how the movie does in theaters."

In the first film, Matthew Lillard plays Mike's (Josh Hutcherson) career counselor named Steve Raglan. However, it is revealed by the end of the film that he is actually the main antagonist, a child murderer named William Afton, who also returned for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.

Rumors about the third Five Nights at Freddy’s film are already catching fire

Daniel Richtman, an industry insider, in his recent report, claims that the filming for the third movie in the franchise is likely to begin by summer next year. It is he who has been keeping the rumors around it alive, as he reported in May that the filming might begin by the end of this year.

Another of his reports that came last year strengthens these rumors. In that report, he claimed that the franchise plans "to go beyond a trilogy for the movies." If that's the case, a third movie is certainly on the cards.

Fans and critics are divided again for Five Nights at Freddy’s

Like the first film in the franchise, audiences and critics are divided for the second film too. As of this writing, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 sits with a critic score of 12% and an audience score of 88% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The same was the case with the 2023 movie, which holds a 33% critic score and an 86% audience score there.

While the critics' consensus for the first film reads,

"Loaded with Easter eggs, Five Nights at Freddy's may be fun to watch for fans of the game, but most viewers of any other persuasion will find this adaptation muddled and decidedly unscary."

the audience says,