Bruce Campbell’s Evil Dead Franchise Update Is Bad News for Ash Williams Fans

For over four decades, Bruce Campbell has been the face of Ash Williams, the chainsaw-wielding and one-liner-spewing survivor at the center of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead mythology. Campbell carried the character through the original trilogy and later resurrected him for Starz’s Ash vs Evil Dead, a three-season revival that ended in 2018 despite strong reviews. Since that cancellation, the actor has stepped back from live-action appearances as Ash, though he left the door open to voicing the character in animation. Rumors of an animated Ash vs Evil Dead TV show first surfaced in 2022, keeping hope alive among longtime fans that Campbell would return to his iconic role in some capacity. That long-simmering possibility has now reached a definitive turning point.

“Ash is done,” Campbell told ScreenRant, closing the door on any future portrayal of the character. The actor also confirmed he is “not going to do any animated voice work,” directly addressing the long-rumored animated revival. Campbell also added that the franchise could move forward with someone else stepping into the role, suggesting producers “can get Joe Ash soundalike” and noting “there are ways to [recreate my voice] now.” Let’s be honest, though, it’s going to be nearly impossible to replace Campbell in the role of Ash, so the character might be as good as dead.

Bruce Campbell Had an Amazing Evil Dead Run

Campbell’s turn as Ash Williams began in 1981 with Sam Raimi’s original The Evil Dead, continuing through Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness before returning nearly two decades later for Starz’s Ash vs Evil Dead. The series was widely embraced by fans and critics alike, but Starz was a niche streaming and the low ratings eventually killed the production. Beyond his on-screen performances, Campbell has also served as a producer on most movies, giving him creative influence over the Evil Dead overarching story both in front of and behind the camera. He continued voicing the character outside live-action projects as well, lending Ash’s voice to the video games Dead by Daylight in 2019 and Evil Dead: The Game in 2022, and even delivering a voice cameo in 2023’s Evil Dead Rise. Given more than four decades of physically demanding stunt work tied to the Ash Williams role and all his unseen contributions to the future of the franchise, I would say Campbell earned the right to retire from it. As a fan, that doesn’t make it any easier to see him go.

Campbell’s retirement from the role arrives while the Evil Dead franchise itself remains strong, regardless of Ash Williams’ absence. A new trilogy of interconnected films began with 2023’s Evil Dead Rise, continued through this summer’s Evil Dead Burn, and will extend further with Evil Dead Wrath, a prequel from director Francis Galluppi currently in development for a 2028 release. Both Rise and Burn were box office successes while garnering good reviews, with the strategy of letting different filmmakers put their own spin on the franchise so far working well for the Evil Dead brand.