Longtime Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell officially hung up his chainsaw and said goodbye to playing the live-action Ash Williams when Ash vs. Evil Dead concluded in 2018, but the actor isn’t leaving the franchise behind entirely, as he recently confirmed an animated Evil Dead series is being developed. With the actor having previously confessed the physical toll playing Ash took on his body was too much to continue, he had to leave the live-action duties behind, though has regularly noted he’d happily voice Ash indefinitely. Previous reports have claimed that an animated movie was potentially in the works, with Campbell noting that the current plan is for an animated series. Additionally, he echoed that the two previously announced live-action movies were still on the horizon. Campbell can next be seen in Peacock’s Hysteria!, which premieres on October 18th.
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When asked by ComicBook if he and his collaborators were still working on an animated series, Campbell confirmed, “We’re just developing it. So we are, but these are slow-motion, molasses processes, so it could be years away. And so are two more movies.”
Evil Dead fans have seen a lot of ups and downs in the decades since filmmaker Sam Raimi unleashed the original movie’s terror upon audiences, with the series always having a cult following but not having quite the same cultural footprint that fans thought it deserved. A 2013 reboot of the movie earned promising reactions from audiences and critics, though failed to revive the property in a substantial way. In 2015, Campbell returned to his iconic role for Ash vs. Evil Dead on Starz, and even with the involvement of Raimi, Campbell, and producer Rob Tapert, the series never earned a major viewership and was scrapped after three seasons.
Many audiences thought this was the end of the road for the franchise, only for 2023 to see the release of Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise. Originally planned as an HBO Max exclusive, the spinoff pivoted to earn a theatrical release and became the top-grossing entry in the entire franchise, effectively bringing the series back from the dead. There are two more spinoffs on the way, one from Sรฉbastien Vaniฤek and one from Francis Galluppi, in addition to the animated series Campbell mentioned.
Between the slow-moving process of developing an animated series and that both spin-off films were announced earlier this year, it’s unclear when any of these projects could gain significant momentum. In the meantime, fans can enjoy the ’80s-set Hysteria! on Peacock.
The series is described, โWhen a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the โSatanic Panicโ of the late 1980s,ย Hysteria!ย follows a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts who realize that they can capitalize on the townโs sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band. This is until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported โsupernatural activityโ triggers a leather-studded witch hunt thatย leads directly back to them.โ
Hysteria!ย starsย Julie Bowenย (Modern Family), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), andย Bruce Campbellย (The Evil Dead,ย Army of Darkness), as well as Emjay Anthony, Chiara Aurelia, Kezii Curtis, and Nikki Hahn.
Stay tuned for updates on the future of the Evil Dead franchise. Hysteria! lands on Peacock on October 18th.
Are you looking forward to an Evil Dead animated series? Contact Patrick Cavanaughย directly on Twitterย orย on Instagramย to talk all thingsย Star Warsย andย horror!
