Emma Tammi is back for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, based on the popular video game series by Scott Cawthon. The first film, released in 2023, became the highest-grossing horror movie of the year. I caught up with the director/executive producer at New York Comic Con to discuss how the characters will continue to grow, which Easter eggs to include, and more.

One year has passed since the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. The stories about what transpired there have been twisted into a campy local legend, inspiring the town’s first ever Fazfest. Former security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) have kept the truth from Mike’s 11-year-old sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), concerning the fate of her animatronic friends. But when Abby sneaks out to reconnect with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, it will set into motion a terrifying series of events, revealing dark secrets about the true origin of Freddy’s, and unleashing a long-forgotten horror hidden away for decades.

The first one got such an incredible response from fans, and I think that is because of you, the cast, and everyone involved, who really brought this thing to life.
Emma Tammi: Huge team effort. I was a part of it, but it was a huge team effort.

It shows. Going into the second one, was there a character from the first movie that you were excited to see the story continue for?
Yeah, I mean, I think the Abby and Mike relationship was something I was really excited, personally, to keep growing. Our actors, Piper Rubio and Josh Hutcherson, were very excited to get back into those roles, and it was amazing to work with them on that. Elizabeth Lail, who plays Vanessa, was also, you know…

You really have such an incredible cast.
I know, we won the lottery. They’re incredible and as incredible to work with as they are to watch. So yeah, the enthusiasm everyone had to keep figuring out where their characters wanted to go for the second one was amazing.

I know I don’t have to tell you, but there’s so much excitement for Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich reuniting.
Dreams.

Do they have any scenes together?
Well, they never stepped on stage together. They’re in the movie. They might not be in the same scene.

Were they watching each other’s scenes, or having those special behind-the-scenes moments, even if they weren’t actually on camera together?
I know they were talking, and I felt like each of them, when on set, was kind of channeling the others, and it all felt connected and relevant. But yeah, they were shooting separately, so it was interesting. 

In terms of Easter eggs and cameos, how do you figure out what goes where and how you want to place it? I feel like, as a director, you have that responsibility, but then it can also become too much [for audiences]. So how do you find that balance between what you want and what you don’t when the opportunity is there? How do you decide where to place those things to make sure they really do fit in the story, so that it doesn’t feel overwhelming?
Yeah, I think the objective most of the time is just trying to place it in a way that if you didn’t know the reference, you wouldn’t even realize there was an Easter egg there. I think there are a couple of moments where there’s no way around it. Again, if you’re like a person in the audience who knows nothing about this, you know, you’re like, that was a reference to something. But there are a lot that are like, if you see it, you see it, if you catch it, you catch it, if you know, you know, and that’s really fun too. It doesn’t distract from the story. I think that’s the most important thing, just keeping people still in the world and not pulled out.

Lastly, can you tease where your favorite Easter egg or cameo is? I know you can’t give anything away, but in the middle, beginning, or end? Anything you can say about the scene so the fans can look out for your personal favorite?
There are quite a few. There’s one that I’m a particular fan of, I would say my favorite one of the day, that’s maybe about two-thirds of the way through, and involves a flashlight.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 will be released in theaters on December 5.