NEED TO KNOW
Josh Hutcherson and his animatronic friends are back to terrorize San Diego Comic-Con.
Convention attendees at Hall H got a glimpse of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (in theaters Dec. 5) at a star-studded panel on Thursday, July 24, that included Hutcherson, 32, costars Skeet Ulrich, Piper Rubio, Theodus Crane, Teo Briones, alongside director Emma Tammi and CEO of Blumhouse Productions Jason Blum.
The filmmaking team unveiled footage and discussed key details in the upcoming sequel to the 2023 box office hit based on Scott Cawthon’s horror video games. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 features Elizabeth Lail, Matthew Lillard and Rubio reprising their roles from the original film, plus newcomers Ulrich, Briones, Wayne Knight, and Mckenna Grace.
“Mike and Abby went through a lot in the first movie. Mike is just trying to find a stable life,” Hutcherson told the crowd of returning security guard Mike Schmidt. “He wants to have a nice, calm, normal life. And that just can’t happen … Poor Mike. He’s going through it.”
“But the bond between Mike and Abby is super strong. And they get to a place where it’s even stronger,” Hutcherson added.
Universal Pictures
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The Hunger Games actor noted that fans can expect “a lot more animatronics” and “bigger set pieces” this time around. Tammi emphasized the increase in terrifying animatronics, noting “there’s so much more action in this one… with the animatronics and that was incredibly exciting.”
“I personally have become so invested in [these characters] and it was just an incredible opportunity to continue to get to tell their stories and expand on them,” the director said.
Despite how scary they are on the outside, Hutcherson admitted there was one animatronic he wouldn’t mind cosplaying (or technically, sitting inside) at Comic-Con. “I’m gonna go with Cupcake, because then I get carried around… it just sounds nice. There’s a lot of walking here.”
Lillard, 55, who plays Mike’s career counselor, appeared via a video message to note how “crazy” it was that the film had “graced” Comic-Con’s legendary Hall H. The Scream actor urged fans to go see the film so that a third can come along where he can finally kill off Hutcherson’s Mike.
Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty
He then introduced friend and Scream costar Ulrich, 55, who expressed how grateful he was to join the franchise. “I can’t tell you how honored I am to be a part of this family, and to the fandom that is really voracious.”
Ulrich teased a little about his character, sharing with the Hall H audience, “I will say I play somebody with a particular past and a deep emotional tie to what’s going on.”
The Riverdale actor also gave a shoutout to Lillard, who will reprise his original Scream villain Stu Macher for the upcoming Scream 7. The actor first appeared in the Wes Craven-directed film as high school student Stu, a horror-movie-obsessed friend of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) who is eventually revealed to be one of the killers behind the Ghostface mask, alongside Billy Loomis (Ulrich).
Ulrich shared that the two have remained in touch throughout the years, telling the crowd, “I’m honored to call him a friend.”
In 2023, Tammi told Variety that her team was “definitely excited to keep making more movies in this world, should we be lucky enough to do that.”
In April 2024, Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions confirmed on social media that Jim Henson’s Creature Shop would return to design the film’s scary animatronics.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is in theaters Dec. 5. San Diego Comic-Con 2025 runs July 24 to 27.
