Matthew Lillard has been cast in the Five Nights at Freddy's movie in a notoriously complex role that promises to be central to the horror adaptation. With so many retcons and lore changes throughout the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise, one character has been slowly revealed across the series. Starting as an unnamed antagonist, this figure slowly became essential to Five Nights at Freddy's lore, and will undoubtedly play a huge role in the upcoming movie.
Somewhat notoriously, Five Nights at Freddy's lore is a complex network of fan theories and contradictions. Directed by Emma Tammi, the upcoming movie adaptation will need to pick through this and turn the Five Nights at Freddy's concept into a cohesive film. Although a release date and official title are yet to be announced, Five Nights at Freddy's has already assembled an impressive cast, with Matthew Lillard taking arguably the most important role.
Matthew Lillard's FNAF Role Explained - Who Is William Afton
William Afton is the primary antagonist of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise. While Afton's crimes are mentioned in the first game, he first appears officially in FNAF 2. Afton originally featured in several 8-bit minigames, lending him his pixilated appearance and purple hue, which led to the nickname "The Purple Guy." Played by Matthew Lillard in the Five Nights at Freddy's movie William Afton and his business partner built Fredbear's Family Diner in the 1970s. The pair also made two springlock suits, Fredbear and Spring Bonnie, to serve as the diner's mascots.
When Afton's youngest son, "The Crying Child," was begrudgingly celebrating a birthday party in the restaurant, Afton's eldest son, Michael, and his friends donned masks of the animatronic characters and placed the Crying Child inside the mouth of the performing Fredbear. The Fredbear animatronic bit down on William Afton's youngest son, killing him. In Five Nights at Freddy's, this is known as "The Bite of '83," and prompted Fazbear Entertainment to retire the springlock suits. Like in any good horror movie franchise, they foolishly opted to store Fredbear and Spring Bonnie in a safe room at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, as seen in FNAF 2.
It was here that Afton, wearing the Spring Bonnie suit to lure victims into a back room at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, killed several children. Afton hid the corpses inside the animatronics, and the children's spirits possessed them. Afton later disassembles these animatronics, freeing the spirits. The spirits corner Afton, who dons the Spring Bonnie suit, but the suit's spinglock mechanism fails, and Afton is crushed to death by the robotic innards. Afton then possesses and haunts this suit under the name Springtrap in FNAF 3, although whether the upcoming 2023 horror movie adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy's will adapt this far is unknown.
Why Matthew Lillard Is Perfect For Five Nights At Freddy's Villain
Matthew Lillard gained impressive horror movie notoriety playing Stu Macher in the first Scream movie. Lillard's performance as one of the first Ghostfaces was phenomenal, able to quickly switch between lovable goofball and terrifying killer. This makes Lillard particularly appropriate casting as the sinister William Afton in the Five Nights at Freddy's movie. Lillard's ability to be likable, yet incredibly sinister, is perfect for the emotionally complex Afton. The horror experience Lillard gained in 13 Ghosts, where Lillard faced a whole different set of haunting spirits than he will in Five Nights at Freddy's, also highlights the actor's suitability for William Afton.