Evil Dead 4 Starts Filming This Year Confirms Bruce Campbell

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Bruce Campbell, who starred as the iconic Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy, revealed that Evil Dead Rise will start shooting this year. The original 1981 Evil Dead was a low budget horror film written and directed by Raimi (serving as his feature-debut) and starred Campbell. The film followed a group of teens heading for a short vacation in a remote cabin. The kids end up inadvertently summoning an army of Deadites, ancient demons that can possess the living. Raimi would follow up the film with Evil Dead 2 (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992). In 2015, a television series was released, titled, Ash vs. Evil Dead. The series ran for 3 seasons on STARZ. The Evil Dead films have received critical acclaim and are often cited as some of the greatest horror movies ever made.

Rumors of a potential Evil Dead 4 have existed since the release of Army of Darkness. In 2013, a remake of the original film was released, although the character of Ash was not the film's protagonist and Campbell was relegated to a post-credit cameo. Both Raimi and Fede Alvarez, who directed the remake, stated that the intention was to crossover the characters from the 2013 with Ash in a future sequel. That theatrical follow-up never ended up happening. However, during the summer of 2020, Campbell revealed that a new Evil Dead film was in the works, although Ash wouldn't make an appearance. The film's title was eventually revealed as Evil Dead Rise.

Speaking to Knox News, Campbell revealed that Evil Dead Rise is set to begin filming later this year. Campbell, who serves as producer on the film, stated that he'll be heading down to New Zealand for the shoot (which was where Ash vs. Evil Dead was also shot). While Campbell had to remain tight-lipped about the film's plot, he did mention that "it's out of the woods," which falls in line with his previous statements about the film taking place in an urban setting.

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Evil Dead Rise is set to be directed by Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground), who was hand-picked by Raimi. Campbell has also spoken about the direction that the film aims to go in, stating that Evil Dead Rise will star a heroine, whose chief aim is to save her family during a Deadite invasion. Campbell emphasized the importance of placing everyday people in extraordinary circumstances, and the most powerful horror comes from the fact that the situation is very much out of their control.

Campbell's words should ease the fears Evil Dead fans may feel about the film's production potentially getting delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Between vaccine rollouts, and the fact that the film is shooting in New Zealand (which has some of the lowest COVID cases in the world), Evil Dead Rise's production start date is likely pretty safe. While the lack of Ash Williams will disappoint some, a new, fresh take on the decades-old franchise will surely be interesting. We will continue to hear more about the film as Evil Dead Rise begins production later this year.