Did Universal Act Best Releasing Five Nights at Freddy’s Teaser Early?

Leaks are not always fun for those who despise seeing spoilers. But, unfortunately, it has become a different story for Five Nights at Freddy’s since it recently fell victim to leaks.

Recently, a Five Nights of Freddy’s fan leaked the trailer on Twitter from what appears to be a recording of a computer screen showcasing the 2-minute trailer. Fans quickly took to social media to share their love for what’s shown in the footage, including the various Easter eggs from the games. Scott Crawthon, Universal Pictures, and Blumhouse Production were all not happy about the leak. The leaked trailer has since been taken down, but that didn’t stop fans from talking about it.

Well, Five Nights at Freddy’s teaser wasn’t the only one that got leaked. In 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home was the most anticipated film of that year. Everyone, including insiders, tried to get photos and videos of the production, but to no avail all thanks to Sony and Marvel’s “No Leak and Spoiler Rule.” Marvel Studios has a history of taking down any leaks and spoilers. In August 2021, an insider that worked with Sony leaked the trailer on Tik Tok as it was supposed to release the day after. The leaked trailer was taken down immediately, but it didn’t stop fans from discussing it.

Another leaked trailer was David Ayer’s Suicide Squad during the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. During Warner Bros. press conference as it was showcasing the trailer, an audience member secretly recorded and posted it to social media. The company quickly took it down, but the trailer became the talk of the town. Due to the trailer gaining attraction, Warner Bros. and DC Comics had no choice but to release it the following Monday.

What’s interesting about the situation is that fans of Five Nights of Freddy’s were expecting the official trailer to come out since it has become common with studios to release the leaked trailer. Scott Crawthon released a statement thanking fans for not watching the trailer but also expressing his disappointment over the leak. However, Universal and Blumhouse did not release the trailer until days later.

Now, we don’t know exactly what happened behind the scenes, but one can imagine the studio had to make a tough decision to release the teaser. The original trailer was a two-and-a-half-minute production filled with unfinished visual effects and showcasing footage from the film. In comparison, the official teaser did have to tweak the footage by creating an advertisement for Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria while showing footage from the film in under a minute. We can give Universal and Blumhouse credit for not only stepping up and doing little damage control while also showcasing not too much from the film.

Is it right to showcase the teaser too early? There isn’t a definitive answer, but regarding this situation, it was the right call. Over the last year, film production experienced problems as fans started visiting the site and taking pictures to share them online. While some fans wouldn’t mind, others would be upset about the leak. We will have to wait and see when Five Nights at Freddy’s comes out on October 8th in theaters and streaming on Peacock the same day.

What do you think? Did Universal and Blumhouse make the right call in releasing the trailer early amid the leak? How should studios handle leaked trailers? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.

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