Evil Dead Now: Bruce Campbell Confirms He Won’t Be Returning as Ash for New Film

Bruce Campbell has appeared in all Evil Dead films to date, with news that Lee Cronin would be moving forward with a new film in the franchise also coming with the confirmation that Campbell will not be appearing in the upcoming entry, reaffirming that he has retired from the role following the conclusion of Ash vs. Evil Dead. While Ash Williams was the focus of the original trilogy of films, Campbell was still involved in the 2013 reboot as a producer, while also having a brief post-credits cameo in which he lent his iconic silhouette while proclaiming Ash’s signature line, “Groovy.”

Campbell confirmed for Empire that The Hole in the Ground director Cronin would be directing the new film, while also confirming that he won’t be coming out of retirement for the project.

“From this point forward, they kind of have to stand on their own. Which is fine. And liberating,” Campbell confessed. “You could have different heroes, different heroines in this case. This one’s gonna be a little more dynamic.”

He added, “We just want to keep the series current. And the mantra, really, is that our heroes and heroines are just regular people. That’s what we’re going to continue.”

Anyone who has been following the franchise in recent years surely won’t be surprised by this news, as Campbell took to social media back in 2018 when it was revealed that Ash vs. Evil Dead would conclude with a third season and that he was “hanging up his chainsaw.” In the years since that announcement, the actor has remained steadfast in letting a new generation make the mythology their own. Campbell’s co-stars in the Starz series, however, think that he’ll start to miss the series soon enough.

“Well, I say, ‘Never say never,’” Dana DeLorenzo shared about the series somehow continuing to Mainframe Comic Con 2.0. “The way things are going, I’ve been reading all these very terrifying things about our industry and just productions and things are being shelved, so I honestly feel like never say never. There have been shows where they get cancelled but then they’re picked up by another network. I know Bruce has said he is in retirement but I feel like Ray and I could convince him.”

Ray Santiago added, “I think enough time has passed by. He just needs a good one or two years of just like chilling in the woods and not having the Boomstick in his hands and then he starts to crave it and it’ll come back.”

Evil Dead Now will have Campbell as a producer, along with original director Sam Raimi and producer Rob Tapert also lending producer duties. Stay tuned for details on the Evil Dead franchise.

Are you looking forward to the new film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!