Evil Dead Director Reveals Why Bruce Campbell Was Done Playing Ash

Bruce Campbell played Ash Williams in three Evil Dead films and in three seasons of Ash vs. Evil Dead before announcing his retirement from the role last year, with director Sam Raimi claiming the actor had lost interest in the gruesome and gory special effects processes of shooting grisly adventures. Having played the role so many times over the course of 40 years, it’s easy to see how one could grow tired of it and seek out other opportunities, though Campbell himself has previously confirmed that he is still heavily invested in the future of the franchise, just not as a performer.

“I think you’re referring to the fact that Ash vs. Evil Dead was on for three seasons, and now it’s done,” Raimi shared during a panel at New York Comic Con about Campbell’s future in the franchise. “And I want more, but Bruce Campbell has said ‘No,’ he’s tired of me throwing blood on him. 40 years of Bruce and those sticky syrup shirts… He wants to work again, but he just doesn’t want to play that role right now.”

This would fall in line with comments Campbell himself has made, as he has previously confirmed that he had another Evil Dead video game in the works, which would only require him to lend his vocal talents.

After Campbell’s three films, fans were given a reboot in 2013, on which Campbell, Raimi, and Rob Tapert all served as producers. The film, which was directed by Fede Alvarez, didn’t do major numbers at the box office, but the minds behind the project have regularly expressed interest in developing another film that could potentially continue that narrative.

“I’d love to make another one. I don’t think TV is in its future but we’re talking about – Bruce, Rob, and myself – one or two different ways to go for the next movie,” Raimi revealed to Bloody Disgusting earlier this year. “We’d like to make another Evil Dead feature and in fact we’re working on some ideas right now.”

The reboot avoided finding new performers to bring their own incarnations of famous characters to life, but Campbell himself supports a new actor taking over the role of Ash, including the bloody experiences on set.

“I’d be perfectly fine if they find some young Ash, do some new incarnation, let some other poor bastard get covered in blood,” Campbell previously shared with Entertainment Weekly. “I hope there are very many variations of Evil Dead. You’ve got the leftover characters from the series, you’ve got the characters from the remake that we did a few years ago. You can intersect universes.”

Stay tuned for details on the future of the Evil Dead series.

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