Bruce Campbell may have stepped away from the Evil Dead franchise as a live-action player, but he hasn't ruled out returning to his iconic role as Ash Williams in animated form.

"All I can say is we're actively pursuing it," Campbell told Bloody Disgusting about a potential Evil Dead animated film. "Sam [Raimi's] a busy guy. He had a big hit movie, so he's got a lot on his plate, but he and his brother are actively shaping out the world. It's one thing to get an animator and say, 'Hey, animate this!' You've got to know what you're going to animate. I look forward to it, because my voice hasn't aged as much as I have."

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Campbell's last live-action appearance as Ash Williams was in Starz's Ash vs Evil Dead, which ran for three seasons between 2015-18. The 30-episode series ended with Ash waking up from a coma 100 years in the future, ready to save the world once again. Campbell previously appeared as Williams in Raimi's The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness and in the post-credits of Fede Álvarez's Evil Dead. Campbell also reprised his iconic role in Evil Dead: The Game, released in 2022, the same year he and Raimi paid tribute to Williams in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in which Benedict Cumberbatch's sorcerer curses Campbell's Pizza Poppa Guy to punch himself in the face repeatedly, a reference to William's possessed hand in Evil Dead II.

Bruce Campbell Moves Behind the Camera

In addition to a potential animated film, Campbell has returned to the Evil Dead franchise as an executive producer of the upcoming Evil Dead Rise, which features a new cast of characters and updated special effects. "No one will ever be able to make fun of the Evil Dead special effects ever again as long as I'm alive," Campbell said of his role behind the camera. "They used to love to do that; cheese-ball effects, garden hoses spewing stuff. Well, you know what? Eat it, bitches, because this is good stuff you're about to see!"

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Written and directed by Lee Cronin, Evil Dead Rise was planned as a streaming original for HBO Max when New Line Cinema (the subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery that distributed the franchise's first film) picked up the project in May 2021. The studio has since decided to release the sequel theatrically following its premiere at South by Southwest (SXFW) on March 15. "Lee Cronin did a really bang-up job. You can expect to be very disturbed," Campbell said. "It's when mommies go bad. We dragged it out of the woods. We're in an urban environment, which gives it a really gnarly feel. I think people are in for trouble. I feel sorry for audiences in advance!"

Though Campbell's Ash Williams is not expected to appear in Evil Dead Rise, fans can see the actor's behind-the-scenes influence when the film opens in theaters on April 21.

Source: Bloody Disgusting