Five Nights at Freddy’s director explains surprising connection between Vanessa and William

❘ Published: 2023-10-27T09:45:15

Universal Pictures

Five Nights at Freddy’s is finally available for all to see – and for some fans, a change to an important connection has come as a surprise.

Adapted from the video game franchise of the same name, the movie follows a troubled security guard who begins working at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. While spending his first night on the job, he realizes the late shift at Freddy’s won’t be so easy to make it through.

The creators behind the movie – including director Emma Tammi and producer Jason Blum – have already stated their hopes for a sequel, with the film having already made its money back before release.

That isn’t to say that there haven’t been some changes along the way, however faithful the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie adaptation remains.

Five Nights at Freddy’s director explains the father-daughter connection

Speaking to Dexerto, Five Nights at Freddy’s director Emma Tammi explains the decision to reframe Vanessa and William Afton as father and daughter.

“Well that was a connection that Scott [Cawthon] had been very clear about even before I came onto the project. In the original script that I was then working on a re-write of, that was already there and part of the fabric. We knew that that was going to be the story that we were telling. So that was really coming from Scott.”

Although the switch to having security officer Vanessa as William Afton’s daughter is a different take on the storyline, it hasn’t come out of nowhere for fans.

For longtime players of the video game franchise, there have always been theories surrounding the true nature of Vanessa and William’s connection. Initially, William’s daughter takes the form of Elizabeth, who players only ever see as a young child. Elizabeth then possesses Circus Baby after she is killed by the animatronic.

Meanwhile, video game Vanessa ends up being corrupted into a follower of Glitchtrap, which is a virus introduced in the Help Wanted game. She then morphs into a serial killer known as Vanny, wearing a white rabbit costume. Vanessa is also introduced as Vanessa A, which could hint at her being related to William Afton after all.

Has creator Scott Cawthon got more up his sleeve for future films? We’ll have to wait and find out. You can find our more in-depth look at the difference between movie and game lore here.

Interview conducted by Britanni Johnson.

Five Nights at Freddy’s is out now, while for more on the movie, check out the below articles: