Is Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead Rise?

Evil Dead Rise is now out in theaters, and a lot of fans of the franchise have one big question going into premiere day: Is Bruce Campbell in it? 

Bruce Campbell’s name is as synonymous with Evil Dead as franchise creator and director Sam Raimi. Whenever anything involved with the Evil Dead franchise is released, Campbell’s name must be involved to give a seal of authenticity to the hardcore fanbase – and Evil Dead Rise is no different. 

So: 

Is Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead Rise? 

Bruce Campbell does not appear onscreen in Evil Dead Rise – but he does make a cameo in the film (see below). Additionally, Evil Dead Rise also has Bruce Campbell’s name stamped on it: Campbell is an executive producer on the film, along with Sam Raimi. 

You can get the MILD SPOILERS about Bruce Campbell’s Evil Dead Rise cameo, below: 

Bruce Campbell’s Evil Dead Rise Cameo Explained

The plot of Evil Dead Rise follows a family living in a rundown LA apartment that used to be a bank. During a particularly rough earthquake the parking garage cracks open to reveal an old vault, which holds a bunch of occult artifacts – including the Necronomicon, the Book of the Dead. However, Evil Dead Rise throws in a New twist in the mix by including some vinyl records with the book. 

The oldest child in the family – aspiring DJ Danny (Morgan Davies) – has the turntables necessary to play the old records, and unwittingly sets off the horrific chain of events that follow. The recordings on the records also include a part reciting the prayer that unleashes the Deadite demons, which then possess Danny’s mom Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) and start to unleash all the hell and havoc you’d expect from Evil Dead. 

Bruce Campbell recorded some minor lines of dialogue for Evil Dead Rise – lines that were included as part of the pastiche of voices included on the vinyl record recordings. Specifically, Campbell voices an occult priest on the recording. Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin has teased fans with the idea that it may not just be Campbell, but his character Ash Williams who is actually on the recording: 

“Bruce came over to Ireland when we were working on the sound and I asked him if he would do this teeny, tiny, little cameo for me, Cronin said in an interview. “And the fun part is, that’s not necessarily Bruce Campbell playing someone else – that could very well be Ash Williams.”