Bruce Campbell Says He’s Officially Done Playing Ash Williams, Including Voice Work in Animated EVIL DEAD Projects

Ash Williams has fought Deadites, lost a hand, wielded a chainsaw, traveled through time, and somehow survived decades of increasingly ridiculous supernatural carnage. Now, Bruce Campbell says the boomstick is officially going back on the shelf.

Campbell has confirmed that he’s finished playing Ash in the Evil Dead franchise, and this time his retirement extends beyond live-action appearances. The actor says he has no plans to voice the character in animation either, effectively closing the door on the long-discussed animated continuation of Ash vs Evil Dead.

Campbell has been inseparable from Ash since Sam Raimi unleashed The Evil Dead in 1981. He returned for Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness before eventually strapping the chainsaw back on for Starz’s Ash vs Evil Dead. The series continued Ash’s story for three seasons and earned plenty of love from fans and critics, but its ratings weren’t strong enough to keep it alive.

After the cancellation, Campbell retired from playing Ash in live-action, although animation remained a possibility. For years, he spoke positively about an animated Ash vs Evil Dead revival that could let him continue the role without putting himself through the physical punishment that comes with playing Ash on camera.

That possibility is now off the table. While speaking with ScreenRant about his new dramedy Ernie & Emma, Campbell made his position clear, saying, "Ash is done."

And he isn’t leaving an animated loophole open for himself. Campbell confirmed he’s "not [be] going to do any animated voice work" as Ash.

If filmmakers eventually decide that Ash needs to return, Campbell thinks they can simply find somebody else who can handle the voice, saying they "can get Joe Ash soundalike," while also acknowledging that "there are ways to [recreate my voice] now."

That’s a pretty definitive ending for Campbell’s run as one of horror’s most recognizable heroes. It also marks a major change from where things stood only a couple of years ago.

Campbell had continued discussing the possibility of an animated Ash vs Evil Dead project, even if its development was moving at a painfully slow pace. In late 2024, he warned that "things like this take forever," joking that fans might have to wait another five years before hearing anything substantial.

There had been signs, though, that Campbell was putting more distance between himself and Evil Dead. He remained involved with Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise as an executive producer and even slipped in a vocal cameo.

Cronin later suggested that the voice could actually be a time-displaced Ash Williams, giving longtime fans a fun little connection to the original films.

Campbell’s involvement decreased further with Evil Dead Burn. He still received an executive producer credit on Sébastien Vaniček’s film, but he had started moving his attention toward other projects.

One of those was Ernie & Emma, which brought Campbell back to directing a feature for the first time since 2007’s My Name Is Bruce. His priorities have also changed for personal reasons.

In March, Campbell revealed that he had been diagnosed with a form of cancer that he described as "treatable," but not "curable." He also said he planned to reduce his workload and public appearances while focusing more on his health.

With that in mind, retiring Ash completely makes sense. Playing this character has always been a physically demanding gig, and after more than four decades of getting covered in fake blood, tossed around sets, and battling every flavor of Deadite imaginable, Campbell has certainly put in the hours.

The good news for horror fans is that Evil Dead itself isn’t going anywhere. The franchise has successfully started building stories that don’t depend on Ash Williams, and that approach will continue.

Francis Galluppi is directing Evil Dead Wrath, which is set to become the first prequel in the Evil Dead franchise and is currently planned for release in 2028.

Meanwhile, Evil Dead Burn opened another potential path forward with its post-credits tease involving Alyssa Sutherland’s Ellie. That could position Ellie as a recurring connection between future Evil Dead movies, giving the series a familiar face without dragging Ash back into the nightmare.

It’ll definitely be strange knowing that even an animated Ash won’t have Campbell’s voice coming out of his mouth. Campbell turned a guy with a shotgun, a chainsaw hand, and questionable decision-making skills into one of horror cinema’s all-time great characters.

His mix of swagger, slapstick, stupidity, and genuine heroism made Ash impossible to separate from the actor playing him. But after more than 40 years, Ash Williams has earned some sleep.

Hopefully nobody reads from the Necronomicon anywhere near his retirement home.