The best Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Easter egg solves a decade old mystery

The new Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 movie is now playing in theaters, and just like the first film, it’s filled with hidden references to the games created by Scott Cawthon. One of these references actually solves a mystery that fans have been trying to figure out for ten years, all the way back to the fourth game!

The new Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, directed by Emma Tammi and written by Cawthon, takes a lot of inspiration from the game Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. However, the films tell their own unique story, while still building on the established history and mythology of the franchise.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 takes place a year after the first movie. Abby searches for the animatronics, and her journey uncovers the hidden history of Freddy’s Pizzeria.

The movie sequel premiered in theaters on December 5, 2025, and immediately broke records for the biggest opening weekend of any horror film. Fans have also been excitedly searching for hidden references to the original games. Be careful – the following contains spoilers!

Best Easter eggs in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

Just to clarify, we’re not including big story reveals or the introduction of important characters – such as Mangle, The Puppet, Charlie, Henry Emily, or the Toy animatronics – when we talk about Easter eggs. These are all essential parts of the main story.

Okay, so instead of just listing everything, we dove deep into all the cool little Easter eggs and references hidden in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 – the stuff you might have overlooked or totally geeked out over! We’ve put together a ranking of the best ones, and honestly, our number one pick actually sheds some light on a mystery from the fourth game… it’s pretty awesome.

12. “Children can be cruel”

Following a lot of speculation, the movie Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 establishes that Freddy Carter plays Michael Afton, the son of William Afton (played by Matthew Lillard). This Michael Afton is a different character than Mike Schmidt, who is portrayed by Josh Hutcherson.

The movie opens with him showing the Spectral Scoopers—a team investigating paranormal activity—around the original pizzeria and letting them meet the Toy Animatronics.

When someone asks about Foxy, Michael says he was damaged while they were trying to fix and rebuild the attraction he’s part of.

He said with a chilling smile, “Kids can be so heartless,” echoing a message from the FNaF World loading screen: “Kids can be so cruel…”

11. Cassette Man

ScreenCrush’s Ryan Arey noticed something interesting in the post-credits scene: Henry leaves a tape recording for Mike warning him to be cautious and revealing that he used to be William’s business partner and has information about him.

If you’re familiar with the game, you likely know about the past connection between Henry and William. However, Arey notes that the use of tapes also cleverly connects to Henry’s nickname, “Cassette Man,” which came from how he was first introduced in Pizzeria Simulator – only through audio recordings.

10. “I don’t hate you but…”

As shown in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Vanessa was friends with Charlie when she was a child, before Charlie’s death and subsequent possession of the Puppet.

She tells the grown-up Vanessa, mirroring a line from the game Ultimate Custom Night, “I don’t hate you, but you need to stay out of my way.”

9. Toy Chica jumpscare

If the original jump scare wasn’t scary enough, the movie brings back Toy Chica’s famous, beak-less appearance from Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.

The story begins when the boundaries keeping the Toy animatronics contained are breached, letting them escape into the outside world. Cory DeVante Williams, a YouTuber, appears again as a taxi driver, and this time he gives Abby a ride from the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.

Okay, so I was driving, checking my mirror, and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Toy Chica… but she didn’t have a beak! Then Abby just handed it to her. It was so weird! After that, my character just blurted out, “I seriously need to find a new job!” It was a crazy moment in the game.

8. Toy Freddy

When Abby flees to the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza location from the original movie, she’s heartbroken to find her friends aren’t there. Mike arrives shortly after and attempts to comfort her by letting her choose a prize from the Prize Counter, a familiar spot for fans of the Five Nights at Freddy’s games.

Before choosing the FazTalker – a prop created for the movies – he recommended the Fredbear Plush. This toy, originally featured in Five Nights at Freddy’s 4, later made a brief appearance as a hidden bonus in FNaF World.

To top it all off, when you press its belly, the animatronic plays the same ‘Toreador March’ song as William Afton. Which brings us to…

7. The Afton March

Did you recognize the tune William whistles at the beginning? It’s the same music that plays when you lose in the original Five Nights at Freddy’s game.

The song is based on ‘Toreador March’ by classical composer Georges Bizet. We hear it again in the film during a dream sequence featuring Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail).

6. Google jumpscare

A cool Easter egg for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 isn’t found in the movie, but on Google! If you search for the film’s name or anything about it, you’ll notice a pair of ghostly animatronic eyes looking back at you.

One fan recently discovered a hidden surprise when searching for the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 movie online. Another user replied that they’d seen it too, and it initially startled them. A third person shared that they were also unexpectedly frightened by it.

5. IC DED P

We’ve discovered another clue from Arey! The license plate on the Spectral Scoopers’ van reads ‘IC DED P’ – a clever nod to the famous line from the movie The Sixth Sense, “I see dead people.”

He explained that this moment is both a playful reference to the horror genre and a callback to Abby being the first character to encounter the ghostly children.

4. Circus Baby

In one of the more surprising moments of Vanessa’s dream, Circus Baby appears. She’s a robotic character, known as a Funtime animatronic, and the main attraction of Circus Baby’s Pizza World, which was first featured in the game Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location.

She appears briefly, mostly as an Easter egg for fans. But one Reddit user suggested her appearance might actually tie together the reasons behind William Afton’s actions in both the video games and the movie.

According to discussions about the novels, William’s actions in the game – specifically the killings – seem to be an attempt to recreate the events surrounding Elizabeth possessing Baby. This also explains how William would have gained knowledge of possession in the first place, and why he chose this particular method.

Based on clues in the game, I think Elizabeth died before the Missing Children Incident. The springlock suits were at Circus Baby’s Pizza World and were taken out of use before the incident happened, as revealed in the phone calls from Five Nights at Freddy’s 3. It’s possible that her death actually caused the Missing Children Incident.

I wondered while watching the movies why there wasn’t a clear reason for the suits, and I thought William might have been using them for something else entirely. But this quick appearance really confirms my suspicion about what he was up to.

No matter how the story is told, or which version you look at, William Afton’s motivation for harming children always seems to stem from an event involving Circus Baby.

3. Popgoes & Candy’s

The story begins in 1982, showing us how Charlie and the Puppet came to be at the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza location from Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 when it was first opened. We see children enjoying the arcade games.

These aren’t just random ideas – they’re based on existing games. One, called Popgoes Adventure, is connected to the official storyline of the popular fan game series, Popgoes. Another appears to feature Candy the Cat, a character from the Five Nights at Candy’s series.

A fan recently pointed out a fun detail in the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie: during the opening scene, when arcade games are visible, one of them references the game ‘Five Nights at Candy’s.’ They called it their favorite Easter egg in the film and were excited to spot the nod to the other game.

“Popgoes too,” someone else chimed in. A third person agreed enthusiastically, saying, “Seriously, nobody else at my showing seemed to notice, and I was starting to think I was imagining things! It actually gave me goosebumps when it happened.”

2. Shadow Bonnie

Fans are buzzing about a very quick, easy-to-miss moment in the show. It happens when Mike goes to the abandoned pizzeria to battle the Toy Animatronics.

While shining his flashlight down the hall, the guard catches a quick glimpse of what appears to be Shadow Bonnie, the shadowy counterpart to the character Toy Bonnie from the game.

A subtle nod in the film caused a huge reaction from fans online. One Reddit user shared that they spotted a glimpse of Shadow Bonnie before the character Mike used his flashlight, and they were the only one in their group to notice.

The surprises in the FNaF 2 movie
byu/NickFamzi inLeaksAndRumors

I mentioned this before, and most people didn’t believe me, but your post confirms I wasn’t imagining things when I saw Shadow Bonnie.

One fan admitted seeing Shadow Bonnie in the theater nearly made them scream, expressing their strong love for the character. Another viewer shared that they initially thought they were hallucinating when they spotted Shadow Bonnie, and had to confirm it by rewatching the movie at home.

1. What’s in the box?

One of the biggest discoveries is finally an explanation for The Box from Five Nights at Freddy’s 4. This locked chest appears after Night 7 with a warning that it’s better to not remember what’s inside.

The box has remained unopened throughout the game series and hasn’t been seen since its initial appearance. Scott Cawthon, the creator, has kept its contents a secret. For over ten years, fans have speculated about what’s inside, with theories ranging from clues about the identity of the Bite Victim to proof linking William Afton to the murders.

One of the biggest mysteries in the Five Nights at Freddy’s series has finally been addressed. In Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Vanessa discovers a locked box that looks remarkably like one seen in the games, potentially revealing what’s inside.

Next, she starts organizing the items inside: a bag of marbles, a notebook, a mirror, and a toy airplane that once belonged to Mike’s brother, Garrett.

William collected these trophies from the people he murdered and gave them to Vanessa as a child. She later discovered the horrifying truth: they belonged to the children her father had killed.

It’s unsettling, but fits the game’s themes – things that are better off left in the past. Fans of Five Nights at Freddy’s have picked up on this, with one Reddit user suggesting it might be a storage space for William Afton to keep mementos of his victims.

Someone else pointed out that Scott Cawthon mentioned in his first interview with Dawko that what was inside the box seemed to change. It was as if the box filled up with more items as William Afton committed more murders.

However, it’s possible this was an oversight, and Scott Cawthon simply hadn’t thought through what the box represented. This raises the question: was Scott being truthful when he told Dawko in the second interview that he no longer knew what was inside the box?

The original poster suggested there are two possibilities: either the box looks different in the movie versus the games, or the creator simply didn’t have a clear idea for it initially and developed one as fans became more focused on it.

This just further proves the team behind the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie understands how to successfully adapt video games into films.

The new Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 movie is now playing in theaters. You can also find information on all the Five Nights at Freddy’s games and books, including how the movies compare to the games, and discover other new releases to watch this month.

2025-12-08 19:52