Although this weekend sees the long-awaited release of Zombieland: Double Tap, fans of horror-comedy are also eagerly awaiting the return of one of that sub-genre’s signature franchises, Evil Dead. Fortunately, there looks to be some movement on that front. The next Evil Dead movie has taken a big step forward, according to face of the franchise Bruce Campbell, who recently said:
So we think we have a cool premise. We have a new filmmaker that Sam Raimi has hand chosen. So he’s very involved in it. Will be involved in the story. And we’ll try and make sure the actors don’t completely suck. And then we’re gonna make another one, yeah. There’s lots of stories…creepy books…lots of people to torment.
The next Evil Dead movie has a filmmaker on board. Although Bruce Campbell did not say who it is and there has been no formal announcement, it seems that there is a director attached for the next installment of the Evil Dead franchise. Whoever it is, he or she has apparently been handpicked by franchise creator and the writer/director of the original Evil Dead trilogy, Sam Raimi.
This would seem to indicate that Fede Alvarez, who directed the 2013 remake of the property, will not be returning for this new film and a newcomer will be brought in. Whoever it is they’ll have help because as Bruce Campbell told the audience at the Rock and Shock Convention in Massachusetts (via Bloody Disgusting), Sam Raimi will be very involved in this next iteration of his horror-comedy franchise.
Over the summer Sam Raimi spoke about his desire to get another Evil Dead feature film made, and it seems that things are progressing in that regard with a director attached. Back in July Raimi said that there were a couple of ideas he, Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert were looking at for the next movie and it seems like they must have settled on one.
Bruce Campbell seems confident that another movie is happening and said that they have a cool premise for it, teasing creepy books and people to torment, hallmarks of the franchise. He also said that Sam Raimi will be heavily involved in the film and the story, which should be encouraging for fans of the original trilogy.
In classic Bruce Campbell fashion, he also noted the importance of finding actors who don’t suck to star in the next Evil Dead movie. Sadly, Bruce Campbell’s Ash will not be among the cast, no matter what this next movie is. Following the cancellation of the Starz underwatched but fan favorite series Ash vs. Evil Dead after three seasons, Bruce Campbell officially retired as his iconic horror character.
Bruce Campbell has spoken about wanting to see someone else take up the mantle and he reiterated that again when he said:
It’s okay to pass it along to another idiot to try and stop evil from destroying the world. One idiot tried – he did pretty good. It’s time to let other innocent people with no skills try to save the world. And there’s more stories to tell.
Self-deprecating and hilarious as always, Bruce Campbell isn’t precious about Ash and is totally willing and even excited to see someone else take up the boomstick and save the world from evil. Who that will be and what that story will be is something we’ll have to wait to find out.
If a new actor plays Ash or if the franchise gets a new lead hero, it would point towards the next Evil Dead movie being a reboot, unless they choose to do a continuation of Fede Alvarez’s remake. I suppose they could do a sequel to the original trilogy and Bruce Campbell could return briefly just to pass on the mantle, although that was kind of what he was doing in Ash vs. Evil Dead.
Wherever the Evil Dead franchise goes from here, fans can take comfort knowing that even if Bruce Campbell is retired as Ash, Evil Dead is not dead and things are in the works. With a new filmmaker attached and Sam Raimi in the fold, maybe we’ll hear more about this project sooner rather than later.
Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the big movies coming to theaters this year and for the latest horror movie news, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
