Nicolas Cage goes up against a squad of killer animatronics that might remind audiences of Five Nights at Freddy's in Willy’s Wonderland, but it's ultimately for the best that this movie is not part of the video game franchise. Willy's Wonderland follows a new wave of horror movies that really highlight Nicolas Cage at his finest, including Mandy and Color Out of Space. The trailer shows a blend of horror and comedy with the signature visceral brutality that Cage has come to be known for in his horror roles.

Directed by Kevin Lewis and written by G.O. Parsons, Willy’s Wonderland follows a quiet drifter who is tricked into cleaning up an abandoned family entertainment center in exchange for repairs to his car. Little does he know, however, that the building is haunted by eight murderous animatronic mascots.

Related: Everything We Know So Far About Willy's Wonderland

From the basic description of the upcoming film, it’s clear that Willy’s Wonderland is definitely inspired by the popularity of Scott Cawthon’s horror video game franchise Five Nights at Freddy’s. However, while a Five Nights at Freddy’s movie is still on the horizon, Willy’s Wonderland has the freedom to do its own thing, while still capitalizing on the frightening and comedic premise of killer animatronics in a Chuck E. Cheese-like entertainment center.

Willys Wonderland 2021 Nicolas Cage Banner

Since April of 2015, a movie adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) has been on the horizon. However, as fans can attest, the movie has encountered quite a few roadblocks. The project has ended up scrapping nine different scripts before it was finally cleared for filming, which is now slated to begin in spring of 2021. In addition, and especially with the difficulty FNAF has had coming to the cinema, a number of other movies have come along to try and capture this same sort of premise over the past six years, including The Banana Splits Movie.

However, none of those movies have been really successful at creating the same excitement as the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise. Willy’s Wonderland, on the other hand, has the star power of Nicolas Cage and the precedence of his other horror roles to build excitement for a movie that is sure to be a bloody good time. It also has the ability to do something completely different from Cawthon’s established video game canon, giving FNAF fans and non-fans alike something to love.

The fact that Willy’s Wonderland is a separate entity gives it more freedom to try something different without fans immediately comparing every story aspect to an existing intellectual property. While the upcoming Five Nights at Freddy’s movie will undoubtedly come under scrutiny for its adherence to the extremely detailed lore and world that’s been built through the game series and books, Willy’s Wonderland is free from any such requirement to remain loyal to any source material.

Related: Mandy: Every '80s Movie Reference In Nic Cage's Revenge Horror

A good example of why this is a great move is Paul W. S. Anderson’s Resident Evil franchise. Anderson tried to take a different approach to the beloved action horror game series, moving away from the canon characters and story events, and, as a result, the films were largely hated by fans of the games due to their tenuous connection to the source material and for largely ignoring the video game lore. For Willy’s Wonderland, not having source material definitely leaves a lot more room for error, offering a premise that is already fairly popular, but without any guarantee that the direction will be solid. However, being disconnected from a specific franchise also allows the film to be able to go in any direction and be judged only on its own merits rather than how true it is to another beloved piece of media.

Next: Why Five Nights At Freddy's Is Such A Popular Horror Franchise