Production on the Ash Vs. Evil Dead series has kicked off in New Zealand, reuniting original core trio Sam Raimi, Bob Tapert and Bruce Campbell, who will all reprise their roles as director, producer and star, respectively. One other defining element of Deadite lore is now poised to re-appear thanks to the first promo shot of the creative trio: Raimi’s 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88. The yellow saloon has made cameos in every single one of the director’s films to date, and served as the titular buffoon’s own ride in the first few Evil Deads.
Speaking of that inciting trilogy, it seems as though the ten-episode series won’t share quite as much connective tissue as previously thought. Of course, it’s still the same Ash who fought Deadites on more than occasion and kicked their groaning, demonic butts back to hell. But his new bout of adventures set some thirty years later come with a twist. In a series of press calls, Tapert offered up this tidbit on whereabouts Ash Vs. Evil Dead slots into the series’ timeline:
“[Ash Vs. Evil Dead] doesn’t really exist in the exact same universe. It’s a slightly altered universe. It takes place somewhere in an alternate universe after Evil Dead 2. That might seem like a confusing answer. I don’t want to spoil too much for the audience, but that’s the truest answer I can give. We would be seeing similar locations, meaning it lives in a modern day world with Ash battling evil in this era, the modern day. Ash went through that [Army of Darkness] experience, but we’re not really referencing it in terms of we’re not referencing specifics from that, but he certainly has that in his memory.”
From what we know so far, the show picks up thirty years from when audiences last saw Ash. When that time was precisely (the end of Army Of Darkness or the end of Evil Dead 2?) isn’t entirely clear, but that’s of no huge concern right now. All that matters is that Ash is picking up the chainsaw once again for another tet-a-tet with the Deadites, and that’s more than enough of a reason to tune in.
Ash Vs. Evil Dead is set to arrive later this year on Starz.
In Ash vs Evil Dead, Campbell will be reprising his role as Ash, the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons –personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its “Evil” grip.
The cast is led by Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, “Burn Notice”) in the role of Ash Williams, Lucy Lawless (“Salem,” “Spartacus”) as Ruby a mysterious figure who believes Ash is the cause of the Evil outbreaks, Ray Santiago (“Touch,” Meet the Fockers) as Pablo Simon Bolivar, an idealistic immigrant who becomes Ash’s loyal sidekick, Dana DeLorenzo (A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas) as Kelly Maxwell, a moody wild child trying to outrun her past and Jill Marie Jones (“Sleepy Hollow”) as Amanda Fisher, a disgraced Michigan State Trooper set to find our anti-hero Ash and prove his responsibility in the grisly murder of her partner.
