'You' Star Elizabeth Lail Lands Major Horror Movie Role

Elizabeth Lail will have a lead role in Five Nights at Freddy's, the long-awaited feature film adaptation of the hit video game series. The film is being produced by Jason Blum, with Emma Tammi (The Wind) directing. Lail starred as Guinevere Beck in the first season of Netflix's hit series You.

Five Nights at Freddy's is already in shooting in New Orleans, reports Deadline. Josh Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard, Kat Conner Sterling, and Mary Stuart Masterson were previously cast in the project. Blumhouse is producing with Striker Entertainment, with Blum and Scott Cawthorn as producers. Beatriz Sequeira and Russell Binder are the executive producers. Jim Henson's Creature Shop is bringing the famous Five Nights at Freddy's animatronics to life.

The movie centers on a security guard who was just hired to work at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. During his first night on the job, he realizes it will not be as easy as he thought because the animatronic animal band comes to life, with murder in mind. Cawthorn, who created the series, wrote the script with Tammi and Seth Cuddeback. The franchise launched in 2014 and was followed by seven more games, including Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach in 2021.

Five Nights fans have been waiting for years to see the games become a movie. Warner Bros. had the film rights first, but its attempts never made it far. Blumhouse picked up the rights in 2017 and hired Chris Columbus to direct, but that version stalled too. In October 2022, Blum announced Tammi was hired and production would start in February. No release date has been set.

"Five Nights at Freddy's is more consistently asked about than any other film I've ever worked on, and I'm thrilled to confirm it's finally happening! With Emma Tammi at the helm, we're committed to making Scott's vision of the movie come to life," Blum said in October. "Rest assured, it will be and is worth the wait."

Lail scored her breakout role in 2014 when she recurred as the Frozen character Anna on ABC's Once Upon a Time. After appearing in episodes of The Blacklist and The Good Fight, she was cast as Guinevere Beck on You. She starred in the first season and made guest appearances in Seasons 2 and 4. Lail also recurred on the Gossip Girl reboot and starred in NBC's short-lived Ordinary Joe. Last year, she starred in the comedy Mack & Rita with Diane Keaton and Taylour Paige.