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Currently pursuing a film career with a passion for film journalism, storytelling of any kind has allowed me to let my imagination run wild in ways even I couldn’t predict. Expect me to write about film, TV, and the entertainment industry.
Bruce Campbell discusses the potential future of Evil Dead in an interview with The A.V. Club, and where audiences can expect Sam Raimi’s beloved supernatural horror franchise to go next.
Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy followed the adventures of Campbell’s (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) heroic male protagonist, Ashley “Ash” Williams. In his journey, he has been forced to fight against demonic entities known as Deadites. This trilogy’s adventure sparked a television show in Ash vs the Evil Dead, alongside a remake in 2013 by Fede Álvarez and a videogame in 2022.
Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise hits theaters this weekend across the U.S. in what promises to be another gnarly entry in Raimi’s monstrous universe. The film was originally going to debut on HBO Max, but after positive test screenings, Warner Bros. Discovery decided to give it a theatrical run.
With Evil Dead Rise’s release, fans might wonder where the movie series will go after the latest chapter. Producer Bruce Campbell answers questions regarding the future of the Deadites in an interview with The A.V. Club.
Meet the New Star: the Book of the Dead
It is more likely than not that audience members socialize Evil Dead with Bruce Campbell’s portrayal of Ash. The character is to this horror saga what Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once) is to Halloween. Or what Neve Campbell (Clouds) is to Scream. Ash is almost too iconic of a character to separate from the brand name.
Nonetheless, Sam Raimi and his collaborators have tried to move past Ash. Fede Álvarez’s remake introduces an entirely new cast, though he pays homage to Campbell with a small cameo in the post-credits. Lee Cronin’s film hopes to make fans care about new characters as well. One key element both of these movies share is a returning item from Raimi’s films: The Book of the Dead.
When speaking to AVC, Bruce Campbell encourages fans to recall how Army of Darkness introduced three demonic books. He suggests the books are now lost in the world and could be found by new characters in future installments. In a sense, the Books of the Dead are the legacy characters of the franchise now.
“It’s all about the books now,” Campbell said. “It has nothing to do with Ash or any particular character. It’s about innocent people with no special skills having to fight for their very lives, and in this case [Evil Dead Rise], it’s a wayward sister and this young daughter.”
Sam Raimi’s Bible
Evil Dead Rise hopes to be a fresh start for the series. We are no longer inside an isolated cabin. Instead, Cronin’s film showcases what it would look like to unleash the Deadites in everyday settings such as an apartment.
Before exploring new ideas, every universe needs established rules and lore. Bruce Campbell agrees with such sentiments. He explains:
Sam [Raimi] is working with his brother Ivan [Raimi] to create an overall Bible that will give future writers and directors an idea of where this thing should go next to potentially tie in some of these stories. So I think it’s going to get a little more tied in as the years go by. But because it’s all about the books. It could be a book in the past, a book in the future. It’s yet to be determined.
Bruce Campbell via The A.V. Club, April 19th, 2023
The Raimi siblings, Campbell, and the team expect to make more movies every two to three years, rather than wait 10 years in-between films.
Ash’s Comeback in Animation?
Bruce Campbell also indicates in the interview that he is done with the makeup process that comes with playing Ash in live-action. As a producer, he is much more interested in helping the next generation of Evil Dead creators by pairing them with the best production crews. He does convey fascination in ending Ash’s arc in the animated Evil Dead series in development, even if his voice has aged.
“He’s foretold in an ancient book, so I think he would have something more of a mystical ending,” said Campbell. “And it’s animation, so you can do anything you want. He could be any age you want. So we have a lot of latitude there. I don’t know, we haven’t given it that much thought.”
The Video Game Realm
In light of fans asking for Ash to be a playable character in the upcoming twelfth Mortal Kombat videogame, Bruce Campbell seemed uninterested in loaning out the character he helped make iconic. Instead, he is open to other characters coming to the Evil Dead game.
“Other creatures like Freddy [Krueger] and Jason [Voorhees] should be in the Evil Dead game,” he said. “You should be able to play as Freddy. You should be able to play as Jason, and then have Ash fight those guys.”
Background on Evil Dead Rise
Evil Dead Rise tells the story of estranged sisters Beth (Lily Sullivan, I Met a Girl) and Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland, The Mist) reuniting to make amends with each other. However, Ellie’s children discover the Book of the Dead and accidentally release a demonic entity that possesses their mother. Now, Beth needs to step up to fight against the evil Deadites and defend her sister’s family.
Currently pursuing a film career with a passion for film journalism, storytelling of any kind has allowed me to let my imagination run wild in ways even I couldn’t predict. Expect me to write about film, TV, and the entertainment industry.
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