Believe it or not, it's almost been 30 years since The Evil Dead debuted in 1981. It spawned two sequels, including the cult classic Army of Darkness which celebrates its 20th anniversary next year. Still representing the career-defining role for Bruce Campbell, fans have been waiting a long time for him to step back into the role of Ash.

Since 2004 (and we reported on Evil Dead 4 back then), scattered reports, interviews and other mentions spoke of a return of The Evil Dead franchise with Sam Raimi still involved and now it seems to be finally happening although possibly in a different direction.

Last night, Dread Central posted a scoop which explained that editor Bob Murawski, who's worked with Sam Raimi for years, was heading to Detroit to begin work on Evil Dead 4. The film will reportedly be grounded in its indie roots, much like the first two Evil Dead films. This came from one of their reliable sources so more would be coming soon... and it has!

Bloody Disgusting is now sharing an exclusive of their own which explains that Sam Raimi is preparing to produce the "quasi-remake" of The Evil Dead and that Freddy Alvarez will be sitting in the director's chair. Alvarez is not a name you know, but his short film Panic Attack! helped him get the gig.

It's no surprise to see Raimi going with an unknown young director as that's what he hinted at doing back in 2009. He also said at the time he hoped he could get Bruce Campbell - who got some leading star time earlier this year in Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe - onboard:

"...So one day I hope to have the time to write a script, and if that happens I’m hoping that Bruce will change his mind."

Raimi said later that year that Campbell would be getting back in shape for the part, but this was over two years ago. We don't know if Campbell will have a role, but he's certainly enthusiastic about the remake as the following tweet by him last night indicates:

"Believe in the remake, dawg! The project is real. In the works. Cool as hell. Scary as hell."

Like the original films, Evil Dead 4 (will likely be named something different), will follow Ash in present day as he fights off the undead. While Ash will probably be played by a new poster boy, fans will want to see Campbell back and I wouldn't be surprised if he had a supporting or cameo role in the flick. Sam Raimi will make that happen.

As we found out more details about whether or not this is a full-on reboot, we'll let you know.

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Sources: Dread Central, Bloody Disgusting, Bruce Campbell