Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell reveals that he is willing to reprise his role as Ash Williams, but only under one condition. First introduced in Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead in 1981, Campbell would go on to play Ash in two sequels and a Starz TV show (and he'd even appear in a brief cameo at the end of Fede Álvarez's 2013 movie reboot). However, in 2021, Campbell announced that he had officially retired from playing Ash in any future projects.
Now, in a recent interview with Fangoria ahead of the release of Evil Dead Rise, the latest sequel for which he serves as an executive producer, Campbell reveals that actually would reprise his role as Ash. The one condition to his return, however, is that Raimi would also have to return as director. Check out Campbell's full comment below:
“I’ll go on record here! These guys don’t scare me! I worked on Xena, so nothing scares me. If Sam says, ‘I, Sam Raimi, will direct another Evil Dead movie,’ then I, Bruce Campbell, will consider being in it. I don’t want to be Ash, tended to by other people. Sam’s the meanest director I’ve ever worked with, and Ash needs a little bit of that to shine. And I think Sam’s the only director now who I won’t punch in the face making an Evil Dead movie! I’m just saying, I’ve called Rob and Sam out, I’m not the coward that they think I am; I just want the right circumstances. Because Sam, even though he’s done studio movies, he’s still a good director! [Raimi laughs] So, I want Sam! I’ll do it for Sam.”
Evil Dead Rise Could Pave The Way For Campbell's Return
Álvarez's 2013 reboot was a moderate box office success and it earned mostly positive reviews, but it failed to generate enough excitement to get a direct sequel off the ground. Evil Dead Rise, however, is billed as a continuation of Raimi's original trilogy, meaning it already has a deeper connection to Ash and his story. If Evil Dead Rise is a hit, a follow-up movie could potentially feature Ash meeting up with whoever ends up surviving the events of the latest installment.
While the sequel is still about a month away from releasing in theaters, it did recently screen at SXSW and was met with a very positive reception. Evil Dead Rise's early reactions have praised the movie for the way it honors the original trilogy and its extreme blood and gore. If these early reactions are indicative of how general audiences will receive the film, strong word-of-mouth could make Evil Dead Rise a notable box office success.
Box office performance will be the key deciding factor in terms of whether or not another Evil Dead movie gets made, and, by extension, whether Raimi and Campbell will get to reunite for another movie. As for Raimi's thoughts on the matter, he continues to serve as an executive producer on all things Evil Dead and only just recently expressed interest in getting back into the director's chair for another installment. While nothing is set in stone, it's certainly looking like Ash could be gracing the big screen again in the next few years.
Source: Fangoria
