Evil Dead franchise star Bruce Campbell reveals that a fifth film might start production this year, although without Ash Williams as the lead. Campbell has become a B-movie icon in the decades since first fighting for survival against Deadites, and he's played lots of memorable roles, but it's hard to imagine anything ever eclipsing Ash in the minds of fans. Sadly, when Starz opted to cancel the Ash vs Evil Dead TV series in 2018, Campbell quickly made it publicly known that he was retiring the character.
In October 2019, Evil Dead creator Sam Raimi confirmed that a new film in the franchise was in development, although it wouldn't star Campbell as Ash. Raimi later revealed that he'd very much like to make another Evil Dead movie with Campbell as the star, but that the actor planned to stay true to his retirement from the franchise. Campbell will, however, serve as a producer on the project, which makes sense, as few know Evil Dead as well as the man behind Ash's chainsaw.
It's been a number of weeks since any further updates on the next Evil Dead movie have emerged, but during a recent appearance at Fan Expo Vancouver (via 1428 Elm), Campbell made it clear that things are right on track. Here's what he had to say.
We’re producing more Evil Dead movies. Maybe one later this year. Sam Raimi’s hand picked the next guy to make another creepy Evil Dead film. It just won’t have Ash. There are more stories to tell.
While it was already known that Sam Raimi had hand-picked a director for the fifth Evil Dead outing, and that Ash wouldn't appear, the fact that production could begin this year is brand new information. Raimi had never provided any kind of timetable for when the new Evil Dead would get rolling, but it seems unlikely Bruce Campbell would mention a possible 2020 production start if one wasn't being considered, and being a producer certainly puts him in a position to know such things. As with 2013's Evil Dead, directed by Fede Alvarez, not recasting the Ash role is definitely for the best, even if Campbell is well and truly done with the character. No one could ever replace him as Ash, and it would be foolish to even try.
Evil Dead has never been a big budget affair, so it seems plausible that if filming began later in 2020, the final film would be ready for release sometime in 2021. Releasing in 2021 would see a new Evil Dead potentially placed in competition for horror supremacy with Halloween Ends, and would mark the first time the two franchises have released a new entry in the same year since Raimi's original Evil Dead premiered in 1981.
Source: Fan Expo Vancouver (via 1428 Elm)
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