The Evil Dead series is an expansive horror franchise, and the TV show actually retconned one of the biggest details from the movies. The specifics of the Evil Dead movies are rarely that important, with almost every story following teenagers going to a secluded cabin and being attacked by demons known as Deadites. However, the few details that were explained in the original movies have now been changed, with part of Evil Dead's story being entirely rewritten by the TV series.
1981's The Evil Dead is the beloved horror movie that started the Evil Dead franchise, with the film following Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, and his friends, as they are terrorized by a horde of evil Deadites. The film spawned two direct sequels, 1987's Evil Dead II and 1992's Army of Darkness, with the franchise also getting a TV series known as Ash vs. Evil Dead that premiered in 2015. The original Evil Dead stories still retain their immense popularity, favorably being compared to the 2013 Evil Dead reboot. Although Ash vs. Evil Dead continued the story of the original films, it changed one major detail.
Ash vs. Evil Dead Changed The Setting From Tennessee To Michigan
Both The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II took place in the Knowby Cabin, with the films being set in the isolated woods of Tennessee. Although the cabin was destroyed at the end of Evil Dead II, it is made very clear that the iconic Evil Dead cabin is located in this state, making the Ash vs. Evil Dead retcon all the more obvious. The TV series retroactively relocated the Knowby Cabin, explaining that The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II actually took place in Michigan. There is not much of a reason for this retcon, making the Ash vs. Evil Dead change even weirder.
The Evil Dead franchise is no stranger to retcons, with the campy horror story series retroactively changing various details of previous films. Retcons have been part of the Evil Dead franchise since the very beginning, with Evil Dead II retconning the original movie only a few years after it came out. For a series as campy as Evil Dead, the retcon of the cabin's location is more of a fun addition than a huge mistake.
Michigan Was Always A Big Part Of The Evil Dead Universe
It is not a surprise that the location of Evil Dead was switched to Michigan, as the state has always been a big part of the Evil Dead universe. In the original film, Ash and his friends were students at Michigan State University, linking the two states from the very beginning. Linda even wore a Michigan State University pullover throughout The Evil Dead. On top of that, Ash Williams' boomstick in Army of Darkness was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as Ash iconically proclaimed.
Michigan also is a big part of the crew behind the Evil Dead series. Director Sam Raimi and actor Bruce Campbell were both born and grew up in Michigan, with their childhood homes unsurprisingly leaking into their movies. The Evil Dead movies and Ash vs. Evil Dead are littered with references to their home state, meaning the Michigan retcon makes even more sense. Michigan would have perhaps been more logical as the setting of Evil Dead from the beginning, and it seems that Sam Raimi realized that in Ash vs. Evil Dead.
