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.

To briefly recap, the next movie in the Evil Dead franchise is currently titled Evil Dead Rise, it’s being directed by Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground), it won’t feature Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, and it’s not going to be set at a cabin in the woods. Rumored but unconfirmed at this time is that the movie will be set in some kind of high-rise/skyscraper.

Cronin, who just directed the now-streaming “50 States of Fright” episode 13 Steps to Hell for Quibi, sat down for a chat with Bloody Disgusting’s The Boo Crew Podcast this week, and while he’s not allowed to say too much about Evil Dead Rise at this time, hosts Lauren & Trevor Shand and Leone D’Antonio did manage to get some interesting insights into the project.For starters, how did Lee Cronin get the keys to the Evil Dead castle?

“I’m a fan and a filmmaker, so I have two jobs to do, really, with making the film. The journey kinda started post-Sundace, early 2019,” Cronin explained to The Boo Crew. “A really important member of Sam’s creative team had seen The Hole in the Ground and said ‘Sam, you’ve gotta watch this.’ So, I had flown into the US for three weeks. My last meeting leaving town was with Sam. And a couple of his development people. He’s exactly how you want him to be as a person; he’s fun and he’s engaging. I remember sitting there and I hadn’t dared raise really much about Evil Dead at all, and then I did towards the end of it. I said, ‘Do you want to do anything else with Evil Dead?’ And he said ‘Absolutely.’ He goes, ‘Do you know any young, eager filmmakers that would be interested?’ And I said ‘Well, I’m flattered that you’re calling me young, Sam.’ And then it just became this very organic process.”

Cronin continued, “I can’t say too much about it, but what I couldn’t do was just go back and try and emulate what’s been done before. I needed to find my own way into the story, which took a little bit of time. And to choose a course and a direction that would deliver absolutely for the fans. In spades. Ya know, what people would want from an Evil Dead movie. But that also has my identity, and offers something of an expansion to the world that we’re used to and hopefully draws in a new audience. So that process of finding what that could be took a number of months.

“I really hope I don’t mess it up. But I’m confident I’m going to do something that’s both familiar and refreshing. I’m gonna deliver a rollercoaster of horror. That’s what the goal is here. Relentless. Not stopping to explain too much. It needs to be extremely visceral, highly entertaining, properly scary. To push boundaries, that’s important as well.”

While Cronin wouldn’t confirm or deny the city/skyscraper setting that has been rumored, he did tease that Evil Dead Rise will most definitely be taking us beyond the iconic cabin.

“It takes us to backdrops we haven’t necessarily experienced the Deadites in before, certainly in the film universe,” Cronin promised. “And it’s also brings a set of characters you don’t expect to see interacting with the Deadites. Which I think is gonna put people on edge quite quickly in the story.”

New Line has made it official that a sequel to the The Evil Dead is in the works for WarnerMedia streaming service HBO Max, titled Evil Dead Rise which will be directed and written by Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin and star Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan.

The original 1981 pic’s filmmaking team is back for Evil Dead Rise: Sam Raimi, who directed, wrote and executive produced Evil Dead will serve as EP here, Robert Tapert who served as EP and producer on the first will produce, and Bruce Campbell who starred as Ashley J. Williams and EP’d the original feature will executive produce on the second go-round. He will not star in the next chapter here.

Moving the action out of the woods and into the city, Evil Dead Rise tells a twisted tale of two estranged sisters, played by Sutherland (TV’s The Mist and Vikings ) and Sullivan (Picnic at Hanging Rock, Jungle), whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable. Cronin was chosen by Raimi, Tapert and Campbell to spearhead the sequel given his feature directorial debut on the 2019 horror title The Hole in the Ground.



I understand Evil Dead Rises is being made strictly for HBO Max. There is a chance the movie will get a theatrical release in those offshore territories where the streaming service isn’t available. The 1981 original movie was a cult movie, only grossing $3M WW theatrically, but finding a bigger audience in the home entertainment arena. The 1987 sequel grossed close to $6M domestic. The threequel, 1992’s Army of Darkness made $11.5M domestic. Out of all of these, Fede Álvarez’s 2013 reboot for TriStar was a success with a $17M production, and a $97.5M global box office gross.

Romel Adam, John Keville and Macdara Kelleher will also serve as EPs.

Said Raimi in a statement, “I’m thrilled to bring Evil Dead back to its original home at New Line 40 years after the release of the first film. The company’s history as pioneers of horror speaks for itself. I’m equally excited to be working with Lee Cronin, whose gifts as a storyteller make him the ideal filmmaker to continue the enduring legacy of the franchise.”

“At its core, Evil Dead is about ordinary people overcoming extraordinarily terrifying situations,” added Campbell, “I can’t wait for Alyssa and Lily to fill the blood-soaked shoes of those who have come before them and carry on that tradition.”



Said Cronin, “The Evil Dead movies filled my brain with terror and awe when I first saw them at nine years old. I am excited and humbled to be resurrecting the most iconic of evil forces for both the fans and a whole new generation.”

Richard Brener, President and Chief Creative Officer, New Line Cinema added, “New Line has a proud history of involvement in some of the most influential and enduring horror films of all time, and the original The Evil Dead was a landmark moment for the Studio. The movie transformed the genre and with each new installment, Sam, Rob and Bruce have continued to raise the bar. It’s exciting to have them back in the fold for Evil Dead Rise after all these years, especially as they bring with them an immense talent in director Lee Cronin. His inventive spirit and his reverence for the franchise make him the perfect director to unleash Evil Dead once again.”

Evil Dead Rise will be filmed on location in New Zealand, with post production work completed in Ireland. With New Line releasing domestically, the film will be distributed by Canal Plus in the UK and Metropolitan in France.