FNAF Movie Loses Harry Potter Director But It's Still Happening

The Five Nights at Freddy's movie has lost its director but the project is still in the works. Chris Columbus, the famous director who made Harry Potter and Home Alone, has dropped out of the Blumhouse horror movie, Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum confirmed to Collider.

Asked if a new director has been hired, Blum replied, "That is classified information." Columbus is at least the second director to leave the FNAF movie, as Gil Kenan (Monster House) was previously set to direct it when the film was at Warner Bros.

Series creator Scott Cawthon is said to have vetoed the script for Columbus' version, and the movie was delayed as a result. It was presumed at the time that Columbus dropped out of the movie as a result, and now it's official.

The FNAF movie has been in development for a very long time, and part of the struggle to get it off the ground is getting the script right.

"We've written multiple scripts, and we've got where we're threading a needle, which is doing justice to Five Nights at Freddy's and making [FNAF creator Scott Cawthon] happy," Blum said.

Blum said Cawthon has the equivalent of "final cut," which is the special privilege to have the final say. "It's taken longer than I hope to get the right story," Blum said.

Although it has been a lengthy process to make the FNAF movie, Blum said he is not planning to walk away anytime soon. "We're a long way from giving up. And I'm confident eventually I will figure it out," he said.

In 2020, Cawthon published his many story ideas for the FNAF movie but kept quiet on his latest script that he plans to make into the movie itself.

Cawthon has been very protective of the FNAF movie and is taking time to make sure the film is done correctly. It has been a lengthy and challenging process to find the right script, but Cawthon said he won't compromise on the story.

"I'm determined to find the right story," he said in 2018. "I'm sticking to what I've always said: either the right movie gets made or no movie gets made. If that means that I have to start over ten more times, then that's what I'm going to do. The good thing is that each attempt gets better and better, in my opinion. So, despite the delays, it's going in the right direction."

More recently, Cawthon made headlines after his political donations came to light. He has subsequently retired from making video games to focus on his family.