With Bruce Campbell now firmly retired as Ash, and the Evil Dead franchise moving forward with a new direction, leaving Ash alive was a mistake. From its inception, and by its very nature, horror has been a villain-based genre. When the purpose is to scare or creep out, whatever monster, ghoul, or other variety of supernatural creature that's doing the scaring is understandably going to get the focus. With that in mind, it's fairly rare that the horror genre gives birth to an iconic hero.
Perhaps the greatest of that lot is Ash Williams, department store employee turned chainsaw-wielding badass. Over the course of director Sam Raimi's original Evil Dead trilogy, Ash evolved from a scared but resourceful survivor into a cocky demon-slayer prone to one-liners. It's a character trajectory that probably shouldn't have worked, but thanks to Campbell's charismatic performances in the role, Ash became a beloved horror staple, adorning every possible type of merchandise, headlining video games, and even getting his own TV show.
It was after the cancellation of said TV show, Ash vs. Evil Dead, by Starz after three seasons that Campbell announced he was hanging up his chainsaw and boomstick and calling it a day. That's despite season 3 ending on an unresolved cliffhanger. With a new film called Evil Dead Rise coming pretty soon, the franchise is moving beyond Ash, but it really needed to give him a hero's demise.
Why Evil Dead Should Have Killed Bruce Campbell's Ash For Good
As sentimental and feel-good idea as it may seem to let Ash go out a winner, it's been clear from the moment he began battling Deadites that the "The King" would eventually perish in battle. Ash may be a reluctant hero, but that's partly what makes him such a great one. But at a certain point, Ash's luck has to run out. He can't well be slaying demons in his 70s. With Campbell insisting he's left Ash behind, and no plans to recast the role for Evil Dead Rise, the iconic character has been left in limbo. As long as Ash is out there though, the Evil Dead franchise won't be able to move on.
Ash is so popular that producer Raimi had Campbell make an end-credits cameo in the 2013 Evil Dead remake, just seemingly to appease fans who missed their beloved hero. Yet, doing that just made the conversation about Ash, and talk of a sequel to the remake always came back to "but will Ash be in it?" The same thing will happen to Evil Dead Rise and any future films or TV shows, as long as there's even a slight possibility of Ash's return. The decision should've been made, either to end Ash vs. Evil Dead or in a final Ash movie, to kill off Campbell's character once and for all, and have him go out doing what he does best, destroying evil. Sadly, that opportunity may be forever lost.