Universal Studios Reportedly Moving Away From Iconic Horror Franchise

According to an industry insider, a fan-favorite horror franchise will not be making its return to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios.

Universal Studios Florida archway during Halloween Horror Nights — Credit: Universal

After 2023, Universal Studios is undoubtedly one of the premiere theme park destinations. Whether you’re visiting Universal Studios Hollywood or any of the parks at Universal Orlando Resort, you know that you’ll have a wonderful experience at Super Nintendo World, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, or any of the Jurassic Park attractions.

That being said, there is nothing quite like Halloween Horror Nights. Every spooky season, Universal transforms into a horror fan’s paradise, filled with frightening scare actors, petrifying scare zones, and immersive houses based on your favorite terrifying franchises. Unfortunately, it looks like one of those franchises won’t make it into the fog this year.

Beloved Horror Franchise Won’t Be at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights

the-last-of-us-halloween-horror-nights — Credit: Universal Studios

Halloween Horror Nights has brought some of the most iconic horror franchises to life, including The Evil Dead, The Exorcist, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Chucky, The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, The Purge, and Stranger Things.

At Universal Studios Hollywood last year, one of these franchises was Five Nights at Freddy’s, a video game series with a rabid fanbase that just had its first theatrical release through Blumhouse. Despite the movie becoming one of the largest box office successes of 2023, a Horror Nights insider has reported that the beloved IP will not be making an appearance this year.

According to HHN insider Legacy, current rumors suggest that Five Nights at Freddy's will NOT be coming to Halloween Horror Nights this year 🐻

How do you feel about this rumor? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/9xTc4JMK59

— HHN 365 (@HHN365) February 20, 2024

Naturally, this has left fans of Freddy Fazbear and Horror Nights disheartened since there is so much lore to pull from. While the film may have been lackluster to some, the team at Universal could easily pull from the nine different video games in a similar way they did for The Last of Us last year.

The good news in this situation is that there are still plenty of horror projects to pull from, including Blumhouse films like M3GAN (2023) and the upcoming Imaginary (2024), and old staples like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger.

A skeleton in red garb reaching out at you in the darkness — Credit: Universal Studios

Universal could also dive deeper and bring back some true classics. Last year, Universal Monsters: Unmasked brought many of the classic monsters from Hollywood’s golden age to terrifying life, including the Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. Any of them could be explored more, or they could focus on another of these icons, like the Creature From the Black Lagoon or the Wolf Man.

And that’s not even mentioning all of the original houses and scare zones that could be expanded upon, like Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America, Dueling Dragons, Dark Zodiac, and whatever they have planned for the Terror Tram.

What would you like to see at Halloween Horror Nights 2024? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!