It’s been quite awhile since Sam Raimi confirmed that he was working on the next chapter for the Evil Dead franchise. However, Empire recently spoke with star Bruce Campbell and he confirmed that the next film, Evil Dead Now, is on the way.
Speaking to Empire Bruce Campbell discussed the latest developments. “We’re just getting off the phone with Lee Cronin, who is writing and directing the next Evil Dead. It’s called Evil Dead Now. Sam handpicked Lee – he did a cool movie called The Hole In The Ground. We’re going to get that sucker out as soon as practical.”
Unfortunately, groovy Bruce says the next chapter won’t feature Ash. “From this point forward, they kind of have to stand on their own. Which is fine. And liberating,” says Bruce Campbell. “You could have different heroes, different heroines in this case. This one’s gonna be a little more dynamic.” He added: “We just want to keep the series current. And the mantra, really, is that our heroes and heroines are just regular people. That’s what we’re going to continue.”
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It’s been a few years since the star had called it quits on his beloved character from the franchise, Ash Williams. He announced retirement after the cancellation of the Starz horror comedy series Ash vs Evil Dead. So far, Campbell has kept his word about not playing Ash again. But with the Necronomicon and deadites back will Ashy Slashy be able to resist getting in on the action? His Ash Vs. Evil Dead co-stars think they could talk him out of retirement.
While speaking with Comicbook.com, Dana DeLorenzo and Ray Santiago say that they never say never. “The way things are going, I’ve been reading all these very terrifying things about our industry and just productions and things are being shelved, so I honestly feel like never say never. There have been shows where they get cancelled but then they’re picked up by another network. I know Bruce has said he is in retirement but I feel like Ray and I could convince him,” said DeLorenzo.
Santiago added, “I think enough time has passed by. He just needs a good one or two years of just like chilling in the woods and not having the Boomstick in his hands and then he starts to crave it and it’ll come back.”
So while we know there will be more Evil Dead, they seem to be without Ash Williams and Bruce Campbell. Personally, I would love to see Ash passing the chainsaw on to the next generation of deadite hunting, boomstick handling, groovy, average hero. For now we will just have to wait and see what Lee Cronin brings to the Evil Dead universe. Be sure to follow ScaryNerd for more of all things horror!
