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The ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 3’ Movie Finally Gets a Writer

It's out with creator Scott Cawthon, in with longtime horror vet Gary Dauberman to pen the script for 'Five Nights at Freddy's 3.'
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Blumhouse is doing another Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, and enlisted a new writer to craft its script.

That would be Gary Dauberman, not David Robert Mitchell like you might’ve recently heard. Dauberman’s screenwriting career is all about the scares, from the recent It movies to Conjuring spinoffs The Nun and Annabelle: Creation and the 2024 adaptation of Salem’s Lot. (He’s got one sole non-horror credit, and that’s the story for October’s Street Fighter movie.) This’ll be the first Freddy’s movie without franchise creator Scott Hawthon on writing duties, who co-wrote the first film’s script with Seth Cuddeback and director Emma Tammi, and held sole writing credit for the second.

As the Hollywood Reporter notes, this is actually the first real bit of news on Five Nights at Freddy’s 3. The second film launched December 2025 and made $240 million worldwide, despite pretty lousy reviews from critics and some fans. While Tammi’s expected back as director for the third time, it’s currently a question mark whether the first two films’ main trio of Josh Hutcherson (Mike), Elizabeth Lail (Vanessa), and Piper Rubio (Abby) will return. Freddy’s 2 ended with Vanessa’s body taken over by the Marionette animatronic after Mike and Abby distanced themself from her. So the window’s open for the Schmidts to return, or for some new folks to be in the Marionette’s crosshairs.

We’ll have more on Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 as news emerges.

[Thanks, Dread Central]

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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