Evil Dead fans got some bittersweet news yesterday. Horror icon Bruce Campbell, the face of the franchise since its first instalment nearly forty years ago, announced that Evil Dead 4 is finally happening. In an interview with Empire, he revealed that the official title is Evil Dead Now and that Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin will be directing (having been handpicked by Sam Raimi). The only thing dampening the celebrations is that Campbell has once again ruled himself out of appearing as chainsaw-handed Deadite ass-kicker Ash Williams.
This won’t come as a huge surprise, of course, as Campbell has repeatedly said he’s retiring from the role after Ash vs. Evil Dead was tragically cancelled. Despite that, some were still holding out hope that he’d make a cameo appearance, as he did in the closing moments of the 2013 reboot. But Campbell went on to lay out why he feels that it might be better for the series to move past Ash, saying that:
“From this point forward, they kind of have to stand on their own. Which is fine. And liberating. You could have different heroes, different heroines in this case. This one’s gonna be a little more dynamic.”
I can see his point. Campbell is now in his sixties and perhaps isn’t as eager to be thrown through tables and smashed into trees as he was in his twenties. Still, he’s been the heart, soul and chin of the Evil Dead for so long that it’s going to be difficult to replace him.
Here’s hoping they don’t try to simply make a new Ash equivalent, but instead create new heroes to carry on his legacy. After all, while Ash vs. Evil Dead was very much centered upon Ash, it also proved that there’s room to expand this blood-spattered universe way beyond its hero. Fingers crossed Raimi and Cronin can find someone that can blow away sadistic demons with as much pizzazz as Campbell did for the last four decades.
