'Five Nights at Freddy's 2' ending and game lore, explained

Spoiler alert! We're discussing the biggest moments in "Five Nights at Freddy's 2," including the ending and credits scene, so turn away now if you don't want to know what happens.

When William Afton promised "I always come back," he wasn't kidding.

"Five Nights at Freddy's 2" ends by setting the stage for an epic showdown between Matthew Lillard's Afton and Josh Hutcherson's Mike Schmidt in a possible third installment to the hit horror series.

In the mid-credits scene, a trio of characters breaks into Freddy Fazbear's Pizza before its demolition to steal props for a haunted house. Once inside, they stumble upon William's body, who is still in his springlock suit, where he was crushed to death at the end of the first movie. As the camera pans in, the eye in William's suit lights up, implying he will return in a third film.

This would adhere to the video game series, as 2015's "Five Nights at Freddy's 3" takes place at a horror attraction and features the villain Springtrap, an animatronic possessed by William.

Matthew Lillard wanted a bigger role in 'Five Nights at Freddy's 2'

Lillard shares he wishes he had more to do in "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" after his character was so well received in the first film, but he's hanging on tight for a bigger role next time.

"It's frustrating as an actor," he says. "You're in a big hit movie, and you're in the movie for six minutes. It kind of breaks your heart. But I keep being told, 'The third movie! It's going to be the third movie!'"

Lillard hopes that a third film, should the second be a big enough hit to justify one, would be a "mano a mano" showdown between Mike and William, featuring Springtrap "in all his gory glory."

"We are set up for a pretty exciting ending, or a pretty exciting continuation," he says. "I don't know if it's an ending. I don't know what happens to the franchise after '3.' But I do know that that third film is teed up to be Mike versus William, and obviously, I'm going to win!"

Director Emma Tammi confirms that if a third film were to happen, William's journey "would be front and center."

One of William's only major appearances in "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" is a dream scene, where Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) imagines being terrorized by her dad in her childhood home. In the scene, an angry William chases her around while expressing his love for her and that she's his favorite child.

Tammi argues that in his own way, William "really does love his family and his kids and his creations to a fault, and it has gone horribly wrong along the way," adding, "He loved her so much, it made things even worse for her than had he been a neglectful father. He really wanted her to follow in his footsteps."

Who is Circus Baby? Meet the surprise new animatronic in 'FNAF2'

Vanessa's dream sequence also features the film's most surprising cameo: Circus Baby, a baby animatronic from the fifth "FNAF" game, 2016's "Sister Location."

Tammi describes Circus Baby's appearance as a "fun nod" to fans of the games, though when asked if this means the character could play a role in the sequel, she simply says she's "never going to rule out anything for the next film." But the filmmaker adds that during production, Circus Baby was "one of the most exciting animatronic arrivals" on set.

In the game's lore, Circus Baby is believed to be haunted by William Afton's daughter, Elizabeth. Still, it's unclear if this will be the case in the movies, considering it hasn't been established on screen that William has another daughter.

Who is Michael Afton? 'FNAF2' director talks villain twist

But the film's biggest twist is the introduction of Michael Afton (Freddy Carter), son of William and secret brother of Vanessa. He's a key character from the video games, though in the games, Michael and Mike are believed to be the same person.

This sparked much speculation when the first movie came out about whether Hutcherson's character was, in fact, Michael Afton. Tammi, though, says this was never the case.

"We weren't ever considering the character of Mike Schmidt to be the character Michael Afton in the first film," she notes. "But going into the second, we knew that that was something that the fan base was talking about, and we thought it was a great opportunity to play with a little bit of a misdirect and still address this character, who has this wonderful family tie-in with William Afton and Vanessa."

Michael Afton is notably left alive at the end of the movie, so it's unlikely we've seen the last of him. Tammi says it was "exciting to potentially tee up more of an exploration of this character" in the future.

'FNAF2' ending sets up Vanessa to 'be the villain'

Before the credits scene, the proper final sequence of "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" is a major cliffhanger: Charlotte, William Afton's murder victim and the film's main antagonist, takes possession of Vanessa.

Despite this being a dark note to end the movie on, Tammi describes the shock twist as a "satisfying moment" for Vanessa's character.

"I felt like, in a weird, strange way, Vanessa's getting all her power back at the end of this film," she says. "It's clearly going in such a sideways, dark way. But how fun is it going to be to see her get to be the villain now?

She's been trying in earnest so hard throughout the whole movie to make things right, and just to have complete liberation at the end, where she gives us this half smile and we see her eyes light up – the whole thing's about to take a turn."