Summary
Matthew Lillard is making a comeback in the horror genre, but it’s not inScream 7. Lillard previously said that he was not part of the nextScreamfilm.
Lillard made his debut in the originalScreammovie, released in 1996. He portrayed the character of Stuart “Stu” Macher, one of the two main antagonists alongside Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). He has reprised the role in various forms but only physically appeared in the first movie. Lillard made a brief, uncredited cameo inScream 2(1997), where he appeared at a college party scene. He returned inScream(2022) not as Stu directly but lent his voice in another uncredited extra role, voicing the flamethrower-wielding Ghostface. Despite his lack of onscreen presence, Lillard’s contributions have kept fans excited about his potential return, as he has always maintained his association with the franchise. Lillard is making another horror film, but it’s notScream 7.
In a recent interview, Lillard confirmed that he would reprise his role as William Afton inFive Nights at Freddy’s 2. William is the supervillain in the movie adaptation of Scott Cawthon’s survival horror game of the same name. He admitted that he didn’t play the game, but his kids did, and they were the ones who convinced him to take on the role when it was offered to him. “I had no idea sort of what I was getting into when we started. I didn’t play Five Nights, but my kids did. And so when the offer came through, it was my middle kid, Ace, who was like, you have to take this job. William Afton is this huge role,” Lillard toldGamesRadar. He added that his character was the “center of the universe in terms of evil.” Director Emma Tammi told him that he would not have much screen time in the first film, but Cawthon predicted that the moviegoers would not be able to move forward without him as William.
Lillard shared what Cawthon told him:
He said in a year or so, people aren’t gonna be able to imagine William Afton without thinking about you.
There are no details yet about the plot ofFive Nights at Freddy’s 2. However, the second movie is reportedly a prequel and will be set in the events before the firstFNAFfilm. So, Abby will likely be very young in the next film. But what’s certain is that Lillard will return to reprise his role as the big bad. TheScreamactor was delighted to be part of the FNAF franchise and was humbled by how fans supported him. “The reality is that I’ve been so lovingly embraced by the FNAF community that It’s really humbling,” he continued. “And so I’m thrilled to be a part of it. I’m thrilled to give them the next iteration of the story. I think they’re gonna love it. I think that we learned a lot. I think that we all sort of learned a lot from what people wanted in the first film.”
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2is one of the anticipated horror movies. Fans are looking forward to seeing new animatronics and the return of the classic and withered ones. SinceFNAF 2offers new gameplay mechanics and hints at the mysterious events of missing children, the movie is expected to include Easter eggs like the hidden character appearances of ShadowBonnieand Shadow Freddy and highlight the origins of the haunted animatronics. Scott Games marked the FNAF’s 10th anniversary in August byreleasing four pages of screenplayfor the next film. However, there was a catch – only would make it to the next movie. The post received several responses from fans who had various theories after reading the screenplays, and the one that made sense the most was page four, which talked about the next film being set before the first one, which starred Mike and Abby.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2will hit theaters on June 29, 2025.
