Matthew Lillard's Villain Twist in Five Nights at Freddy's: A Closer Look

Introduction

The Five Nights at Freddy's movie brought a surprising twist to the horror genre, with Matthew Lillard's portrayal of William Afton leaving a lasting impression on audiences. In this article, we delve into the subtle details and connections that unveiled Lillard's villainous role, shedding light on the intricacies of the film's narrative and character development.

Five Nights at Freddy's pixel credits with Matthew Lillard's name

The Revelation of William Afton's Identity

Two subtle details gave away Matthew Lillard's villain twist in the Five Nights at Freddy's movie, and one of those details came within the film's first five minutes. Lillard played the role of William Afton in Five Nights at Freddy's cast, but he was first introduced as Steve Raglan, the career counselor who hires Mike to work as Freddy Fazbear's Pizza's night guard. Lying about his identity was bad enough, but it turned out Afton was the serial killer who murdered several children, including Mike's younger brother, and hid their bodies in the pizzeria's giant animatronics.

Edited image of Matthew Lillard in Five Nights At Freddy's & Ghostface from Scream

Whereas Afton wore the yellow rabbit Spring Bonnie suit during Five Nights at Freddy's ending, the rest of the movie's animatronics came to life through the power of the souls trapped inside them. Initially targeting Mike as a threat, the young murder victims were reminded of the truth, causing them to turn on Afton. Upon attacking him, the spring lock in Afton's suit malfunctioned, essentially turning Lillard into the Five Nights at Freddy's Springtrap character. Afton was gravely injured, but franchise details implied Lillard would return in Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and beyond. Even though Lillard's multi-film deal hinted at his character's fate, his character's identity was teased several times before the big reveal.

Subtle Signs and References

Before William Afton was seen wearing the Spring Bonnie suit, Five Nights at Freddy's confirmed a 'yellow rabbit' had something to do with Garrett's disappearance. That yellow rabbit turned out to be the leader of the souls powering the animatronics and, more importantly, the man who kidnapped and murdered the kids whom Mike had been seeing in his nightmares. However, during Five Nights at Freddy's opening credits sequence, Matthew Lillard's name appeared just as the Spring Bonnie character was shown. Using his name with the yellow rabbit was a subtle sign that Lillard's character was more than just a career counselor.

Even before Steve Raglan revealed himself to be William Afton, there were a few more clues to Lillard's Five Nights at Freddy's villain twist. While talking to Mike in the Spring Bonnie suit, the voice was distorted, but it was still clearly Lillard's. That said, Afton made a particular move with his weapon that doubled as a reference to another villain linked to Lillard. While taunting Mike, Afton wiped his knife blade clean the same way Ghostface does in the Scream franchise.

Lillard, of course, played Stu Macher, one of the first characters revealed as Ghostface in the slasher series. Those familiar with Ghostface's signature knife swipe may have instantly connected Lillard's Scream homage in Five Nights at Freddy's moments before Afton even revealed his true identity. Unlike Scream, which seems unlikely to bring back Lillard's character in any form, Afton still has a future in Five Nights at Freddy's now that he transformed into Springtrap. What's more, Springtrap will be even deadlier, suggesting future franchise installments will be even darker than Blumhouse's initial movie adaptation.