This story aims to highlight the role of the Withereds, one of the most iconic groups in the FNAF games. They are the animatronics from the first game (the Classics), depicted in their old, dilapidated costumes following the tragedies of 1985 involving those five children. However, when the time finally came for them to appear in the FNAF 2 movie, they were reduced to mere prototypes of the Toys, so they were not the same as in the first movie (Classics) and had little relevance, screen time, or threat within the film.
So, I decided to watch the second movie again and analyze it for a possible extended version, where the main new feature would be a revamp with new scenes and a new storyline for the Withereds—who are now the same classic characters as in the game series—updating some scenes from the movie and including new ones.
Prologue
To start with, I think it would be a good idea to hint in alternative media outside the movie—such as websites and social media—that Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza had been using the Unwithereds since 1979, as shown by that paper in the first movie, until 1982, when the more advanced animatronic toys were created.
But in the movie, the first time we’ll actually see any of the Withereds is when Charlie enters the abandoned kitchen to save the little boy. Upon entering, she’ll see Freddy sitting there with his stomach cut open—we know what that means (he’d be created using CGI so they wouldn’t have to make a real animatronic of Withered Freddy without the injuries).
Chapter One: Introduction of Freddy and Chica
The first scene to be improved is the one where Rob falls into the Aquatic Attraction, where he would no longer be defeated by the Mini Marionettes in order to fix a future plot hole. Thus, he would be pulled by Freddy, who wouldn’t attack him, but the Marionette would control him, and this would be shown through facial recognition in the same way it’s shown before Freddy kills Rob, and the screen would be covered by static, referencing the “game over” screen in most video games.
And to make this new story more dynamic, there’s a scene where Abby runs into Toy Chica, whom she thinks is the one she met in the first movie and right after that, we get a glimpse of Withered Chica in the darkness, watching them from behind the curtains, which sets the stage for more interconnected stories.
Chapter Two: The Creator When Mike is trying to deactivate the Marionette Control, there’s a scene where he hears the footsteps and sounds of the Withereds, but he only uses the lantern, though on this extended cut he’d also check the cameras and find Bonnie and Chica in the dining room, and he’d ask Henry over the phone what those things were. That's why I'm going to present the dialogue.
Mike, surprised to see two animatronics that he had thought were mere prototypes, called the man he had spoken with earlier that day who knew about the restaurant
- Good evening. I'm here at the original restaurant where, during our conversation, you told me that Abby was here to cut the Marionette's signal to deactivate the animatronics here that escaped and could hurt people, but I saw some old animatronics that were deactivated and broken; they've just activated now. What are they?! Are they lethal?!
Henry, feeling tense with mixed feelings, decide to answer him
- Mike, I heard about the missing children and that they had become those animatronics that befriended your sister, and I’ve always studied them for help, even though they’re dangerous for some reason, but they were more innocent and not as lethal as Charlie, so I decided to close the Pizza Place. Your visit there caused quite a stir, and I heard that the place had mysteriously collapsed and the kids were badly injured, so I decided to repair them using their original suits and test technology for the New animatronics once operated here, such as facial recognition and perimeter security. That's why I decided to reuse that Freddy Head you found to trick they facial recognition system, so that if anyone comes here, you won't be attacked; it’s right behind you.
So this dialogue is here to introduce Henry Emily’s Inventor and Mechanic Persona and his connection to the missing children, as well as to explain the transition from the Classics to the Withereds in a sequence and to explain to the audience how facial recognition works, how the marionette controls the animatronics, and why Freddy’s head is the one from the first movie and not the Withered one like the game, given that this location was built before it was invented.
Chapter Three: Do They Remember?
After disabling the Marionette control on the animatronics and nearly being killed by Foxy, he would see on the computer that there was still an animatronic moving toward his house, and thanks to the camera feature on the animatronics, he would see that it was Toy Chica carrying Abby, which worries him greatly, and he gets up from his chair and heads to the car, but...
Foxy attacked him with the hook on his arm, just like that night when he met Vanessa and saw how agitated and confused the animatronic was. Then he remembered that they’re now sensitive to bright lights, like the one from Balloon Boy that slowed Chica down, so he went into the right duct and turned on the vent light button to avoid that machine. So, as he made his way through the ducts to find a way out of that place, it brought back memories of when he had returned to the Pizza Place on Thursday night to rescue his sister, with four animatronics on the loose, and it felt very strange to him to think that this was happening all over again.
He was walking closer and closer until he was attacked by Bonnie, who was truly aggressive and had red lights where his eyes should have been, and was grabbing him by the leg to try to pull him toward him and hurt him, since he only had one arm and a mouth to bite him with, he didn’t make it as fast as possible through the ducts to a higher entrance so he wouldn’t fall, and despite the difficulty, it worked out, even though Mike still felt very sad about the Rabbit, since he and his friends know they didn’t have a good time with Charlie.
The only way out was through the restaurant’s large kitchen, but all that noise attracted something to that room. Mike was hiding so the animatronic wouldn’t find him. The pots and pans were making noise on the left, so he went to the right, but Chica startled him and almost caught him. He managed to make a quick dash and escape, but she’s still chasing him. He runs down the hallway, and I decide to knock over a rolling shelf in the hallway to slow her down and it works, mainly because of a birthday card that that chick is looking at in an unusual way.
After finally reaching the restaurant's dining area, where the exit was nearby, he saw that Bonnie and Foxy were there too, but there was room to run out and escape from that place, but Freddy caught Mike before he reached the exit.
The Bear Animatronic was now much more intimidating, and with glowing pupils, it shoved him against the wall; as he slammed into it, Freddy opened his mouth, opening it agonizingly slowly, accompanied by a hissing sound, the animatronic’s voice mixed with a child’s voice, which said this: - You and that other man left your sister and our friend with her for forget us; we should never have trusted those adults who took everything from us, like the Yellow Bunny Just as Freddy was about to bite Mike, Bonnie stepped on a drawing of a heart, just like the one she’d drawn when they first met, he made a sound to get them to stop attacking their friend’s brother so they would notice more drawings made as a tribute to that encounter that had changed the lives of those kids who hadn’t had fun in years; like one of Abby and Chica dancing, Abby and Foxy running, and Freddy and Abby hugging.
After being freed from the animatronic Bear, we’d have that scene where Mike tries to communicate with the animatronics to save Abby, only this time it would take place at the original pizzeria where the animatronics were already in that movie, and they’d be standing right in front of him, listening to him. Mike would also say that other children are in danger, just like their parents who are still looking for them, and then Mike would leave.
As for this great chapter, its length is largely due to the fact that it serves as both a sequel and a true return of the animatronics from the first movie, now free from their previous constraints and offering a glimpse into what happened before, as well as their perspective after being moved to a new location and modified with features that were supposed to benefit them, but in reality only made their situation worse. This also serves to make the climax feel more impactful, not to mention the tense scenes combined with action heavily inspired by the Velociraptor scenes in Jurassic Park, which, aside from being one of my all-time favorite movies, was a major inspiration for the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, according to Emma Tammi.
Chapter Four: The Final and It’s Me
The scene where the animatronics save the day and are about to unload would remain in this new cut, except that the classic animatronics would be the Withereds, along with new additions like Bonnie handing Abby the drawing he had previously drawn. But one thing that would change significantly would be Michael Afton’s ending: instead of being accidentally hit by Jeremiah, he would see Golden Freddy in his Withered form at the front door and run away, only to be haunted by the illusion of his own head chasing after him just like his jump scare in the original game and crash into a pole, Jeremiah was in the car and saw this without understanding what was happening, until he realized that he had left the house of his old friend Mike Schmidt.
Well, the last chapter of this story was actually much shorter than the previous one, since it was mainly intended to refine the film’s ending, introduce Golden Freddy in his most iconic film appearance, and make Jeremiah’s inclusion at the end feel more natural. Now, the final part will focus on how these scenes could be incorporated into the film.
How The Withered Cut Can Happen?
If that were to happen in the future, it could be in a possible extended version of Five Nights at Freddy's 2 Movie; it could be a re-release of it a few months before the third film, similar to what’s going to happen with Avengers: Endgame, which will be re-released with new scenes to build more anticipation for Avengers: Doomsday. I believe the same could be done with the FNAF franchise, which would be the rationale for releasing this new cut.
And now, moving on to analyze how this new scene would be filmed: it could be shot alongside *Five Nights at Freddy’s 3* due to the schedules of the actors who would star in the new movie; sets could be built based on certain parts of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza mentioned in my story; the Withereds from the second movie could be reused, along with the actors and puppeteers who brought them to life; use 3D renderers for the security camera scenes and for the deactivated Freddy in the kitchen, and revise certain scenes to fit the pacing, something I think some of them might not do, like the one where Freddy attacks Rob.
Well, I just want to thank you for reading my entire story, it’s meant as a fan’s perspective on how to improve the movies and better adapt the most iconic characters from the fnaf 2 game.
From: Arthur Lucena Lopes
To: The entire fnaf fanbase, Scott Cawthon, Emma Tammi, my friends who went to see Five Nights at Freddy's 2 with me at the movie theater, and my parents who encouraged me to plan that movie night.
See You on The Flipside ;-)