One of the big complaintscritics had with FNAFwas its obsession with lore and deep cuts, making it inaccessible for those who haven’t played the games. There’s a pretty good example of just that lurking toward the end of the film with Golden Freddy, an animatronic that most people assumed was just… regular old Freddy.

It’s easy to see why. They look identical, with the only major difference being damage to their left eye and ear. My assumption was that Freddy had somehow broken out of the pizzeria to find Max and took damage in the process, but no, it’s Golden Freddy.

I thought the second one [Golden Freddy] was how they look outside of the magic of the building or some shit.

“Even knowing about Golden Freddy didn’t help me with this one,” @soggystyrofoam said. “They look too similar when one of them isn’t bright yellow and also doesn’t have the designated different jumpscare from the other guys”.

Golden Freddy’s spirit does say that they’re “not Freddy”, but the meaning got muddied for those who don’t know about the series and its characters.

“I think most non-fans interpreted ‘not Freddy’ as ‘Hey, it’s actually me, the ghost child who haunts Freddy’,” @kanethecarter said. “It also doesn’t help that this particular ghost has a tendency of lying anyway. This would all be solved in Golden Freddy actually existed in the first half of the film”.

“The ‘not Freddy’ line I thought was him explaining he’s a ghost kid, not the character itself,” @PrinceOfShroom said. “Golden Freddy doesn’t look yellow to me. I just thought he was spookier looking for the vibes. And I’m someone who is super into FNAF lore”.

In fairness, the movie doesn’t give a reason for Golden Freddy appearing or attach any significance to them. They disappear as quickly as they appear, making them more of a cameo than anything.

In the games, Golden Freddy (or Yellowbear) is, like all of the others, possessed by one of the kidsWilliam Aftonmurdered. However, unlike the other animatronics, Golden Freddy spends most of the time in the dark, watching from afar. If you do fight him, he’s much stronger than Freddy with sharper teeth and claws, and it’s even believed that, despite being able to go free in the Good Ending, he refuses.

He was an Easter Egg in the first game, but an antagonist in the second, so it’s possible we’ll see more of him in the movie’s sequel.