Universal PicturesFive Nights at Freddy’s 2 has arrived in cinemas, and like the first movie, it’s packed full of Easter eggs to Scott Cawthon’s games, including one that solves a ten-year-old mystery from FNaF 4.
Although the anticipated sequel – directed by Emma Tammi and written by Cawthon – draws heavily from the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 game, the movies exist within their own continuity, while still incorporating the lore of the franchise.
FNaF 2 kicks off a year after the first film, where Abby goes out looking for her animatronic friends, only to kick off a chain of events that reveal more about the true origin of Freddy’s Pizzeria.
Since dropping in cinemas on December 5, 2025, the sequel’s had the biggest horror movie box office opening weekend by far, while fans have been busy picking out the best Easter eggs that harken back to the games. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Best Easter eggs in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Before we get into it, it’s worth noting that we’re not counting the major lore reveals or character introductions – like Mangle, Marionette/The Puppet, Charlie, Henry Emily (Skeet Ulrich), or the Toy animatronics – as Easter eggs, as they’re core plot elements.
Instead, we’re focusing on the hidden references you may have missed (or been excited to see). So, without further ado, here’s our ranking of the best nods in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, with our top choice providing an answer to a question raised in the fourth game…
12. “Children can be cruel”
Universal PicturesAfter much theorizing, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 confirms Freddy Carter’s character is, in fact, Michael Afton, William Afton’s (Matthew Lillard) son and separate to Josh Hutcherson’s Mike Schmidt.
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At the beginning of the new movie, he gives the Spectral Scoopers – a group of paranormal investigators – a tour of the OG pizzeria, introducing them to the Toy Animatronics.
When they ask what happened to Foxy, Michael explains that he was involved in a “failed take apart and put back together attraction.”
With a sinister smile, he says, “Kids can be so heartless,” a nod to Mangle’s loading screen message in FNaF World: “Kids can be so cruel…”
11. Cassette Man
Universal PicturesThis one was spotted by ScreenCrush’s Ryan Arey, who highlighted the post-credits scene in which Henry tells Mike via a tape recording that he has to be careful and he has information on William as he used to be his business partner.
As a fan of the game, you’ll already know this detail about Henry and William’s former working relationship. But as Arey points out, “His use of the tapes is also a reference to Henry’s in-game moniker, Cassette Man, as he was initially only heard on tape in his first appearance in Pizzeria Simulator.”
10. “I don’t hate you but…”
Scott Cawthon/ScottGamesAs you’ll have seen in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a young Vanessa was friends with Charlie before she was killed and possessed the Puppet.
In the present-day, she tells adult Vanessa, “I don’t hate you, but you need to stay out of my way,” which is a direct quote said by the Puppet in the spinoff game Ultimate Custom Night.
9. Toy Chica jumpscare
Scott Cawthon/ScottGamesIn case you weren’t frightened enough the first time round, the iconic beak-less Toy Chica jumpscare from the FNaF 2 game is recreated in the sequel movie.
It unfolds when the Toy animatronics’ perimeter block is broken, allowing them to venture out into the real world. YouTuber Cory DeVante Williams makes another cameo as a taxi driver, this time picking up Abby from the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.
As he looks in his rearview mirror, he gets a fright when he sees Toy Chica without her beak. Abby hands it to her, before Williams’ character exclaims, “I’ve got to get a new job.”
8. Toy Freddy
Scott Cawthon/ScottGamesWhen Abby runs away to the Freddy’s location from the first movie, she’s devastated to learn her friends aren’t there. Mike soon follows, and tries to cheer her up by letting her take an item from the Prize Counter, a hub area seen in multiple FNaF games.
Although she picks the FazTalker – an item made-up for the films – prior to this he suggests the Fredbear Plush, a toy version of Freddy first introduced in FNaF 4, who later reappears as an Easter egg in FNaF World.
And if that weren’t enough, when he squeezes its stomach, it sings the same ‘Toreador March’ tune as William Afton. Speaking of which…
7. The Afton March
Universal PicturesDoes William’s whistle sound familiar to you in the opening scene? That’s because he’s whistling the same tune that plays when you die in the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game.
The tune itself is from the classical song ‘Toreador March’, composed by Georges Bizet. We hear it again later in the movie during Vanessa’s (Elizabeth Lail) dream sequence.
6. Google jumpscare
GoogleOne of the best FNaF 2 Easter eggs isn’t even in the film itself. Instead, it’s thanks to Google. If you search the movie’s name or anything related to it, you’ll see a pair of translucent animatronic eyes staring back at you.
“I just realised when you Google FNaF 2 movie you get this Easter egg,” said one fan, to which another wrote, “Yeah I’ve seen that! It scared the crap out of me the first time.” A third added, “Just got jumpscared from this lol.”
5. IC DED P
Buena Vista PicturesThis one’s another Arey find, and what a find it is: the license plate of the Spectral Scoopers’ van is ‘IC DED P’ – a reference to the iconic line in the Sixth Sense, “I see dead people.”
“Not only is this a fun horror nod, but it’s also a reference to Abby and how she was the first to see the dead children,” he explained.
4. Circus Baby
Scott Cawthon/ScottGamesOne of the most unexpected appearances in Vanessa’s dream is Circus Baby, a Funtime animatronic and the main mascot of Circus Baby’s Pizza World, first introduced in Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location.
She literally only makes an appearance, seemingly as a fun little reference. However, one Redditor pointed out that she may connect William Afton’s motives in the games and the movies.
“In the novels William outright states that the MCI was him trying to recreate the Incident with Elizabeth possessing Baby. And I think this makes perfect sense as to how William would specifically learn about possession, and why he would do the killings in this fashion in the games,” they said.
Universal Pictures“I believe that Elizabeth died before the MCI based off of springlock suit being at CBPW, and they were discontinued before the MCI according to the FNaF3 calls. So it’s possible that her death in the games was what sparked the MCI as well.
“I was a little concerned in the movies that there wasn’t an incident like this, and that William just stuffed kids in the suits for some other purpose in the movies. But thanks to this cameo I’m fairly certain of it now.
“It seems like in every version of the story, every continuity, the main reason why William stuffs kids is because of some incident with Circus Baby.”
3. Popgoes & Candy’s
Scott Cawthon/ScottGamesThe opening scene in which we learn the origin of Charlie and the Marionette takes us to the FNaf 2 location in its heyday, back in 1982. During this sequence, we see a bunch of kids playing arcade games.
But these are no made-up games. One is called Popgoes Adventure, referencing the Popgoes fan game spinoff series that is officially canon, while another shows what looks like Candy the Cat from the Five Nights at Candy’s series.
One fan described it as their favorite Easter egg in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, writing, “Did anyone else catch during the beginning of the movie when a couple of arcade games are shown? One game mentions Five Nights at Candy’s. I was really happy to see that.”
“And Popgoes as well,” said another, while a third added, “YES, nobody in my theater noticed and I felt like I was losing my mind looking for someone else that saw it. I literally got goosebumps when I saw it.”
2. Shadow Bonnie
Scott Cawthon/ScottGamesArguably the Easter egg that has fans talking the most is this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reveal. It unfolds when Mike heads to the old pizzeria to fight the Toy Animatronics.
As he holds his flashlight down the hallway, we see a very brief flash of what looks like Shadow Bonnie, the shadowy version of Toy Bonnie from the games.
The nod sent fans into meltdown, with one writing on Reddit, “I went in the cinema with my friends today and I’m just the only one who noticed there was a Shadow Bonnie before Mike flashed his flashlight.
“Once I told them most of them don’t believe me but thanks to your post that proves that I wasn’t hallucinating about Shadow Bonnie part.”
“Seeing Shadow Bonnie almost made me scream in the theater, I LOVE SHADOW BONNIE SO MUCH,” said another, while a third added, “I legit thought I was going crazy when I saw Shadow Bonnie, I had to check again when I got home and sure enough he was there!”
1. What’s in the box?
Universal PicturesTop of the list is an Easter egg that finally reveals what’s in The Box from the Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 game. For context, The Box is a locked chest shown at the end of Night 7, accompanied by a message saying that “some things are best left forgotten.”
It has never been opened in the games, never been shown again, and Scott Cawthon hasn’t revealed what’s inside. For more than a decade, the fandom has theorized it holds everything from the truth about the Bite Victim to evidence tying William Afton to the murders.
Its contents remain one of the biggest unresolved mysteries in the horror franchise… until now. You see, in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, as Vanessa prepares for her dream sequence, she pulls a locked box out of her cupboard and it looks eerily similar to the one from the games.
Scott Cawthon/ScottGamesShe can then be seen arranging its contents: a bag of marbles, a notebook, a mirror, and the toy plane that belonged to Mike’s brother, Garrett.
These are all trophies William collected from his murder victims and gifted to Vanessa when she was young, not realizing until later that they belonged to the kids her father killed.
It’s truly sinister, but it would make sense to the games: things that are “best left forgotten.” FNaF fans have noticed this reveal, with one writing on Reddit, “I think all this time, it was just a box where Afton would store trophies of his victims.”
Another wrote, “This does make sense because Scott Cawthon when he was being interviewed by Dawko for the first time did say the box’s contents kept changing over time, almost like the box’s contents started to add up the more victims Afton claimed.
Universal Pictures“But this could be unintentional and be about how Scott Cawthon didn’t have a plan for the box. So did Scott lie when he said he didn’t know what was in the box anymore when Dawko asked him again in the second interview?”
The OP replied, “It’s either that the box has two different representations in the movie and in the games, or that he might have genuinely not had an idea for it in the first place, and then came up with one later on the more people start obsessing over the box.”
Either way, it’s more evidence that the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie creators know how to get video game adaptations right.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is in cinemas now. You can also read about all the FNaF games and books in order, the differences between the games and the movies, and find more new movies to watch this month.