Two years ago, the first film in the Five Nights at Freddy’s series became a runaway hit, grossing over $290 million at the global box office despite simultaneously being released in movie theaters and streaming on Peacock. That success naturally gave way to a follow-up, and the new film is set to arrive in theaters in just a few weeks. In the middle of the night, Universal Pictures rolled out the new trailer for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the hit 2023 video game adaptation. Not only did this new trailer offer fresh footage, a new look at the sequel’s new animatronics, but also how the film has evolved from the first movie’s criticisms.

Despite its box office success, the first Five Nights at Freddy’s movie was met with criticism from fans and newcomers alike for how it not only failed to adapt the extensive lore of the franchise but also its failure to really capture the horror atmosphere that defined the video games. With the new trailer for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, though, it seems like the upcoming sequel may have learned its lessons from these criticisms and is diving headfirst into both of these elements for the new movie.

Five Nights at Feddy’s 2 Trailer Confirms They Learned to Embrace the Lore

The opening seconds of the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 trailer confirm that the upcoming sequel is gearing up to tackle both of these elements, expanding on the franchise lore and giving fans the atmosphere not seen in the first movie. These sequences focus on Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa Shelly, the police officer from the first movie, revealed to be William Afton’s daughter. In the clips, we see her dreams, which feel reminiscent of the Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 game, while also making it clear that it will actually explore her backstory and connection to Afton.

This is made doubly clear later in the trailer when one of the new cast members for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is revealed, Skeet Ulrich. Though not confirmed, we can take an educated guess from the footage that Ulrich is playing none other than Henry Emily, the original partner of William Afton. In the FNAF games, Emily has a daughter, Charlotte, who not only became one of Afton’s victims but whose spirit would inhabit one of the most terrifying creatures in the lore, The Marionette. This is teased in the footage by Ulrich’s character talking about his deceased daughter and how her death was assumed to be an accident, making a note he realized she had been murdered after the five children went missing. To make it all even clearer, the final shot of Ulrich’s daughter in the trailer has her wearing striped long sleeves, reminiscent of The Marionette’s look.

There’s also a meta quality to our guess that Skeet Ulrich is playing William Afton’s partner, Henry Emily. As horror fans know well, Ulrich and actor Matthew Lillard previously played partners in crime in the original Scream movie back in 1996. The two reuniting for the new Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, and taking on these roles, is too cheeky of a genre reference for the filmmakers to ignore, and if they’re not playing former partners in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, it would be quite a coincidence.

The Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 trailer plays one more card to confirm that it’s diving deep into the lore of the franchise. Across the final minute of the trailer is the reveal of the new animatronics that will appear in the movie. Though the “Toy” versions of the FNAF animatronics were already confirmed ot appear, the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 trailer reveals our first real look at others that will appear, including Withered Bonnie, Balloon Boy, and, most importantly, Mangle.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 premieres on December 5, so we have just one month before we find out if the sequel really did listen. That said, based on what we’ve seen in the new trailer, it looks like things have improved.