Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 has reportedly tapped It and Annabelle scribe Gary Dauberman to write its script.
Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal seem to have made their first real move for yet another sequel in their series of video game-to-movie adaptations, according to Dread Central (via The Hollywood Reporter). It’s a sign not only that work on the next FNaF movie is underway but that the team is looking to spice up Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza this time around.
Dauberman’s resume includes credits on projects like the 2017 It reboot, its sequel, and 2014’s Annabelle. He also helped write The Nun and last year’s Until Dawn movie and is attached to the upcoming Street Fighter and Helldivers films.
The first Five Nights at Freddy’s film, which premiered in 2023, was co-written by creator Scott Cawthon and director Emma Tammi. Its sequel then followed in 2025 and was written by Seth Cuddeback. It’s unclear if Dauberman will write the new script alone as Blumhouse and Universal attempt to reanimate the franchise’s terrifying animatronic for Five Nights at Freddy’s 3.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 has not been formally announced, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it get the green light. The first two movies were tremendous successes, with the first quickly becoming Blumhouse’s biggest ever at the time, and the sequel bringing in a solid opening haul, too. Global box office totals saw Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 finish with $291.5 million and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 finish with $238.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
The Hollywood Reporter says that, should work on Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 move forward, Tammi, who directed the first two films, is expected to return. Cawthon is also expected to be involved as a producer. Although stars like Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, and Elizabeth Lail have not officially signed on for another installment, the site says “many are expected” to return, too.
Even as audiences have flocked to see Freddy, Chica, Foxy, and Bonnie hit the big screen, the movies have been notoriously panned by critics. Movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has the first currently sitting at a 33% critic score and 85% audience score, with ratings for the second at 17% from critics and 82% from audiences. IGN gave FNaF 1 a 4/10 and FNaF 2 a 3/10.
Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal may be hoping to even out those scores as Dauberman gives Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 some fresh blood. For more, you can check out our worst-reviewed movies of 2025.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
