Fans saw the newest addition to the Evil Dead franchise — Ash vs. Evil Dead — canceled by Starz after only airing for three seasons. Rumors were circulating at the time, hoping to see a streaming service pick up where Starz left off. Unfortunately, for long-time fans of the series, Bruce Campbell (the American actor who plays primary protagonist Ash Williams) came forward, squashing all such hope in announcing that he had officially retired from playing the character.
Later, in May, 2018, Campbell teased his fans that he had been asked to lend his voice and physical motion capture toward a potential Evil Dead video game. Now, Bloody Disgusting has confirmed this to be true in an exclusive interview with Bruce Campbell.
It appears that the Evil Dead franchise is being expanded upon with another video game, and the legendary Bruce Campbell will be returning to his characteristic role as the voice of Ash. Meagan Navarro from Bloody Disgusting spoke with Campbell while conducting preliminary talks in advance of a later, more comprehensive interview. She asked the actor to comment on allegedly voicing his character for a video game, mentioning his previously stated retirement. Campbell said that his retirement from Ash Williams did not include any existing obligations that he had agreed to prior to the retirement of his iconic horror character.
“Oh no no, that’s different. I have previous obligations I have to fulfill. They are doing a video game. A whole immersive kind of dealio. I’ll be Ash for that, because I wouldn’t want someone else’s voice hamming it up.”
Beyond that tidbit, Campbell has chosen to remain tight-lipped about the specifics and any other details surrounding the upcoming video game. Rumors are indicating that this game could potentially be a virtual reality (VR) title. This will not be Campbell’s first foray into voice acting, as Bruce has previously been the voice of Ash Williams in numerous other video games, such as Evil Dead: Hail to the King, Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick, and Evil Dead: Regeneration .
Fede Alvarez, director of the 2013 Evil Dead reboot starring American actress Jane Levy, announced recently that Evil Dead 2 could finally be moving forward with a near future release, according to Movie Web . The previous film managed to rake in over $93 million in worldwide box office revenue, according to Box Office Mojo .
It appears that horror fans have not seen the last of Ash Williams, even if his only upcoming appearance is in the form of a video game. However, some fans speculate as to whether or not the right project could come along and bring Bruce Campbell out of retirement.
After all, back in February, 2018, Movie Web reported on the limbo that Ash vs. Evil Dead was in just before the cancellation. In that report, Bruce Campbell was quoted saying that if the show was canceled, an Evil Dead movie could be in the works.
“We’re in the horrible television limbo right now. We’re going to see what the TV gods have in store for us. We’re ready either way. If they take us off the air, we can think about another movie. And if they don’t, we can just keep plugging away.”