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The Scream Easter egg in Five Nights at Freddy’s was a complete accident (but Matthew Lillard ran with it anyway)

Five Nights at Freddy’s actor Matthew Lillard reveals the Scream Easter egg from the movie was a happy accident

News by Joshua Lapin-Bertone, Contributing writer

Published on Fri Sep 19 2025

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If you’re a Scream fan, then you probably noticed a fun Easter egg in the 2023 Five Nights at Freddy’s movie. When William Afton enters the pizzeria during the final act, he wipes his knife just like Ghostface did in Scream. This Easter egg takes on an extra meaning when you realize that Afton’s actor Matthew Lillard played Stu Macher in the first Scream movie.

However, it turns out this Easter egg was a complete coincidence.

“It’s something I did instinctually that the director liked and had me do again,” Lillard says during a panel at GalaxyCon San Jose. “I don’t think I realized it was in Scream. Just for the record, I haven’t seen Scream in 20 years. So, it’s not like I go, oh yeah, remember that thing. I’m not that smart.”

Lillard will be returning as William Afton in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, which is due in theaters on December 5. Pay attention to him in the sequel, because he might accidentally throw another Scream Easter egg in there. Or maybe this time it will be something from Scooby-Doo.

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Joshua Lapin-Bertone: Joshua is a pop culture writer specializing in comic book media. His work has appeared on the official DC Comics website, the DC Universe subscription service, HBO Max promotional videos, the Batman Universe fansite, and more. In between traveling around the country to cover various comic conventions, Joshua resides in Florida where he binges superhero television and reads obscure comics from yesteryear.