The Necronomicon is about to be opened and the Evil Dead are set to rise once again. In other words, Evil Dead 4 is officially happening and we’ve just got our first details on it thanks to Ash himself, Bruce Campbell. Back in February, the longtime face of the franchise promised us it was on the way and in his latest interview, he’s revealed that the movie will be titled Evil Dead Now and original director Sam Raimi has hired Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin to helm it.
Campbell, who won’t be starring in the picture this time around, revealed the news to Empire, promising that everything is set for the pic to enter production as soon as physically possible.
“We’re just getting off the phone with Lee Cronin, who is writing and directing the next Evil Dead,” Campbell said. “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.”
With Campbell having officially declared his retirement as Ash following the conclusion of Starz’s Ash vs. Evil Dead TV series after three seasons in 2018, Evil Dead Now will feature a female protagonist. Campbell also went on to explain to Empire that following ED films will be standalone, saying:
“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.” He added: “We ju[s]t 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.”
The last time the series hit the big screen was 2013’s Evil Dead remake, directed by Fede Alvarez and featuring Jane Levy in the lead. Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of 1981’s The Evil Dead, which first introduced us to Ash and the Deadites. Going by Campbell’s promise that shooting will kick off ASAP, it seems likely that they’re hoping to get Evil Dead Now – AKA Evil Dead 4 – in theaters some time in 2021. Groovy!