Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness was an atypical horror sequel upon its release, but if Raimi and Bruce Campbell’s original plan was followed, the subsequent Evil Dead film would have taken Ash to the future.

Sam Raimi has become a mainstream filmmaker who’s tackled a lot of different genres in influential ways and even helped kickstart the modern superhero franchise with his Spider-Man movies. In spite of the different places Raimi’s career has taken him, his Evil Dead horror franchise remains among his most popular works. The original movie is a bare-bones, independent horror movie that’s full of atmosphere, but each new film in the series becomes progressively more ambitious in both its scope and storytelling.

Related: Army Of Darkness' Alternate Ending Set Up A Dystopian Evil Dead 4

Army of Darkness, the third film in Raimi’s popular Evil Dead series, sent Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams back to Medieval times and took both the franchise and the character to some highly entertaining places. Fans were still hungry for more Evil Dead after the film was released, and considering that the film goes out on a cliffhanger, there was talk of putting out a sequel to Army of Darkness.

Army Of Darkness Sequel Would Have Taken Ash To The Future

Ash in Army of Darkness

There was a lengthy interim period between Army of Darkness and Ash Vs. Evil Dead, which continued the character's story decades later. Before this television follow-up came to pass, several ideas were thrown around for an Army of Darkness 2. One of the ideas under consideration was to have the next film pick up on the international release's ending for Army of Darkness that ended with Ash in a post-apocalyptic future. This film would have basically made Ash a Sarah Connor-esque figure and put him up against an army of Terminator-like machines, but the understandable concerns over what would have presumably been a high budget for a sequel of this nature kept it from coming together.

Another proposed plan for an Army of Darkness 2 or Evil Dead 4 proposed an even more ridiculous angle that capitalized on how Army of Darkness has two different endings for its U.S. and foreign releases. This sequel would have considered both of these endings canon and featured two timelines in the film. The two timelines would have explored one where Ash is a mundane present and another where he's stuck in a doomed version of the future. As creative as this angle sounds, the off-the-wall premise eventually became too much for Raimi and company. Thankfully, Ash Vs. Evil Dead eventually continued the story that was addressed in Army of Darkness.

Next: What Happened Between Army Of Darkness And Ash Vs. Evil Dead