Bruce Campbell Explains Why EVIL DEAD Is Coming to TV
Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi are currently developing an Evil Dead series for Starz called Ash Vs. Evil Dead. This is something I’m extremely excited about, and it sounds like it could be a great thing for the classic horror franchise. I’m not really worried about whether we’ll see another movie or not at this point because the fact is, this series is going to give fans everything that they want and more.
In a recent interview with EW, Campbell explained why they decided to go the TV route instead of bringing Ash back to the big screen.
“We realized if we made another movie, frankly, it would probably be too expensive. But in the format of a TV show, we could give people exactly what they wanted and expand the character and the story even more. Ash would probably have more dialogue in one season than in three movies. He’ll have to become a more fleshed-out character as well. And we never burned Evil Dead as a franchise out—it’s not like we did 13 of these movies. So we felt like, what the heck, let’s give it a try.”
I do love the fact that with a TV series we will get more of everything from whatever gloriously bloody and terror filled story they are going to tell. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t think of doing something like this sooner!
The series will follow the character Ash, “the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons –personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its ‘Evil’ grip.”
There’s no information on any additional casting at this point, but Campbell did go on to tease what relationships the characters find themselves in saying, one is “a male-bonding situation” and that the other is a “father-figure deal,” with what I assume is a younger female character.
The actor goes on to reassure the fans that there is going to be a good mix of explicitness, blood splatter, and some comedy.
“Humor may come out of it, but there’s nothing funny about a demon ripping somebody’s head off. And the beauty of Starz is there’s no content issues. Let’s face it: Fans want the carnage and the mayhem. So we intend to give them quite the explosion of viscera. Most of it directed at me, unfortunately.”
Fan-freakin’-tastic! I’m so ridiculously pumped up for this series! The more I hear about it, the better it sounds. This is going to be everything that the Evil Dead fans have been waiting to see all of these years.