The Evil Dead franchise, long revered in the horror genre, is once again capturing the spotlight. Following the success of Evil Dead Rise last year, at least two more films are already planned. However, the series is also set to expand into animation, as revealed by Bruce Campbell during a recent Entertainment Weekly interview promoting his new show Hysteria.
Campbell, who has been the face of Evil Dead icon Ash Williams throughout the franchise, shared that an animated version of Evil Dead is in development. Although he was tight-lipped about the specifics, he confirmed that this project would allow him to continue voicing Ash.
“We are developing an animated version, like a series,” Campbell told Entertainment Weekly. “I’ll do that. I’ll do Ash’s voice all day long because my voice hasn’t aged as much as I have.” He officially retired from playing Ash in live-action after the cancellation of Ash vs Evil Dead in 2015, but his passion for the character remains strong.
Despite his step back from live-action, Campbell believes the franchise will thrive. He trusts that future Evil Dead projects will honour the series’ core elements. “We’re out of the cabin, Sam [Raimi] doesn’t have to direct, and I don’t have to star as Ash,” Campbell said. “The trick is to take the elements that people like, which is innocent people being tortured by a malicious entity, and it’s people who have no skills to stop it.”
Looking ahead, Campbell teased details about the upcoming Evil Dead films. Earlier this year, it was revealed that one of these films is a spinoff from Sébastien Vaniček, and the other is an original story by Francis Galluppi. Scripts for both are nearly complete, and a single studio will finance and distribute them. This accelerated production schedule is a response to the success of Evil Dead Rise, which grossed US$146 million worldwide.
With the positive reception of the latest film, the team is keen to avoid long gaps between releases. Campbell’s updates suggest a robust future for the franchise, blending new and old elements while continuing to evolve in unexpected ways. Fans can look forward to more Evil Dead content, both animated and live-action, in the near future.
Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, games, and comics — you name it. When she’s not reading or geeking out about the latest shows on Netflix, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of meeting her idols.
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