FNAF 3 is not being written by Scott Cawthon

1 hour ago 1

Published Jun 27, 2026, 11:50 AM EDT

The writer of It and Until Dawn's recent film adaptations will be writing it instead

Freddy Fazbear in Five Nights at Freddy's 2

We've finally learned who will be writing Five Nights at Freddy's 3, the third movie based on the popular horror game franchise. Surprisingly, it's not series creator Scott Cawthon.

On June 26, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Five Nights at Freddy's 3 will be written by Gary Dauberman. He's well-versed in horror, having written the scripts for the Annabelle and It movies. More recently, Dauberman has embraced the video game adaptation by writing 2025's Until Dawn movie and consulting on the story of this year's Street Fighter flick.

Although the film is in the hands of an experienced horror writer, it's surprising that series creator Scott Cawthon isn't writing it. Cawthon has been closely involved with every aspect of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise ever since it began in 2014. That included co-writing the first movie and being the sole writer credited on its sequel. For Five Nights at Freddy's 3, he'll be credited and involved as a producer.

At this time, we still don't know what the story of the third Five Nights at Freddy's movie will be or if Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, Elizabeth Lail, Matthew Lillard, and other members of the second movie's cast will return. Five Nights at Freddy's 3 also doesn't have a release date on Universal Pictures' upcoming slate. Still, the fact that a writer has been brought on board — and that Emma Tammi is expected to return as director, according to the same report — does indicate that the movie is barreling toward production.

It makes sense that Universal Pictures and Blumhouse want to continue the Five Nights at Freddy's film franchise, as both films have been box office successes. Critically, they haven't fared quite as well. Polygon's review of the second film argues that "the story is a mess if you don't already know the ins and outs of the series." Maybe bringing in a writer who isn't the franchise's creator will help with that.

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