Does ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s Have an End-Credits Scene?

The Big Picture

• Five Nights at Freddy’s has a very short mid-credits scene, but don’t expect a larger universe tease.
• The movie follows protagonist Mike Schmidt who works as a security guard in an old and haunted pizzeria.
• The movie’s future is uncertain, but actor Matthew Lillard has expressed interest in a Five Nights at Freddy’s sequel.

This one has been years in the making and eagerly awaited by hardcore fans of all ages, but Five Nights at Freddy’s finally made the jump to the big screen and Peacock on October 27th, 2023. With so much hype around it on the internet, everyone expected the new Blumhouse movie to follow the current franchising trend and tease a larger Five Nights at Freddy’s universe in an end-credits scene. Post-credits scenes have become commonplace nowadays, and it’s the perfect opportunity to hint at future franchise plans, right? Well, don’t get your hopes up too much, as there is only a mid-credits scene in Five Nights at Freddy’s — and a short one at that. However, if you’re a die-hard fan of the games and a part of its online community, you’re probably going to enjoy it. Still, Five Nights is a rather inclusive horror movie and there’s a lot going on even for more casual viewers, so let’s see what’s up.

What Is ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s About?

Just like the original game, Five Nights at Freddy’s follows the main character Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), a troubled young man who’s struggling to take care of his little sister Abby (Piper Rubio). Unable to focus and traumatized by the disappearance of his brother Garrett when he was 12, Mike jumps from one job to the next quicker than any career counselor would like, until he lands a nighttime security gig at the old and decayed Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. The place was a hit in the 1980s but has since been abandoned, and Mike finds out that it hides a dark and supernatural secret: the old animatronics come to life after midnight and try to kill anyone they can find. Of course, this is nothing new for those who have seen the trailers or played the games, but Five Nights at Freddy’s still has a lot of surprises up its sleeve. Seeing those huge animatronics — made by the great Jim Henson’s Creature Shop — in a dark theater really is something else.

As surprising as it may be that Five Nights at Freddy’s only has a short mid-credits scene, the movie couldn’t just leave us empty-handed — not when the very games it’s based on also have their own sort of post-credits scenes. From the very first game, if the player does make it out alive after their own five nights at Freddy’s, they get a handsome reward: another playable night! The game calls these “custom nights” because you can adjust the difficulty you want to play in. This has become a franchise tradition already, with most of the games having this extra night; as if five weren’t already enough!

After doing extra time, though, the player does get handsomely rewarded with a payment check for the nights of work. They also get fired, sure, but that’s for the comedic effect after those sleepless horror nights. It’s the same in the movie, only it’s considerably less scary than the games — nothing more fun and lighthearted than losing your job after it nearly kills you, right?

Will There Be More ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s Movies?

While the original Five Nights at Freddy’s game was an instant hit when it came out nearly a decade ago, it looks like Blumhouse has chosen to play it safe with the movie adaptation and it shows. The mid-credits scene is very quick indeed, with possible tie-ins to future movies being left to the actual movie. There’s plenty of that, with enough elements from all the games thrown in for the fans old and new to catch. Matthew Lillard, who plays William Afton, has expressed interest in a potential Five Nights at Freddy’s sequel, so time will tell if the actor will get to reprise his role as Afton’s animatronic alter ego, Springtrap.

Still, despite the possibility of a much-anticipated sequel, it’s difficult to guess what the future may hold for Five Nights at Freddy’s, and this is something that goes way beyond the lack of an end-credits scene. The movie’s PG-13 rating, which surprised some fans of the violent video games, is definitely a symptom of the movie trying to cater to the younger players of the games as much as the older ones. There are plenty of iconic animatronics yet to be seen, but first, we’ll have to see if Blumhouse’s choice to try and please all audiences was a smart move or a Freddy Fazbear-sized misstep.

Five Nights at Freddy’s is available to watch on Peacock in the U.S.

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