WhenBruce Campbellannounced onTwitterin 2018 that he’s retiring as Ash Williams, fans were devastated. His Twitter post came after Starz canceled the comedy horror seriesAsh vs. Evil Dead. Well, in Campbell’s recent interview withFangoria, fans were given hope for the actor to reprise his role.
Campbell worked with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert to makeEvil Dead Rise. He’s among the executive producers for the film along with Raimi while Tapert produced the film. While promoting the film, he was asked if he’d ever return as Ash again and the actor apparently had one condition to return as Ash Williams onscreen. Campbell only wanted Sam Raimi as his director for future Evil Dead projects.
“I’ll go on record here! These guys don’t scare me! I worked on Xena, so nothing scares me. If Sam says, ‘I, Sam Raimi, will direct another Evil Dead movie,’ then I, Bruce Campbell, will consider being in it. I don’t want to be Ash, tended to by other people. Sam’s the meanest director I’ve ever worked with, and Ash needs a little bit of that to shine. And I think Sam’s the only director now who I won’t punch in the face making an Evil Dead movie! I’m just saying, I’ve called Rob and Sam out, I’m not the coward that they think I am; I just want the right circumstances. Because Sam, even though he’s done studio movies, he’s still a good director! [Raimi laughs] So, I want Sam! I’ll do it for Sam.”
Considering Campbell has helmed four projects before, two documentaries titledFanalysisandA Community Speaksand two films titledMan with the Screaming BrainandMy Name Is Bruce, that leaves the question on whether the actor is open on directing an Evil Dead film himself, and he answered,
“I would only do it with Sam’s blessing. I wouldn’t want him to get pissed off. You know, they would probably say, ‘OK, Bruce, go ahead and direct one,’ and then they’d see a few weeks [of footage] and then there would be mysterious illnesses, and Sam would have to step in. I don’t know, it’s actually kind of fun just being the face of it a little bit at times. I’m just an ambassador for the series now.”
RELATED:Bruce Campbell Teases Pizza Poppa’s Return in the MCU
For Now, Bruce Campbell Would Rather Stay Behind The Scenes
Until Sam Raimi calls him to return to the franchise as Ash, he’ll stay hidden behind the scenes. Campbell excitedly shares details on how they made Evil Dead Rise, he said,
“We wanted to show audiences the next generation of Evil Dead, which is way more horrifying now. I mean, the shit that you can do and the tricks that you can play now? This audience is doomed! And this was made with the best crew in all of New Zealand. Because of all the movies and TV shows that shoot down there, they have great crews—and they all have to suck up to Rob Tapert, because he’s doled out a lot of work over the years. [Tapert laughs] So Lee [Cronin, Rise’s writer/director] had one of the best teams you could ever get.”
Evil Dead Riseis scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on April 21.
