Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell can finally stop answering the question they’ve gotten for almost 30 years: “When are you going to make Evil Dead 4?” The answer is they’ll be starting next month in New Zealand—and it’ll premiere on HBO Max.
As previously reported, the fourth film is officially called Evil Dead Rise (not Evil Dead Now as Campbell has previously teased) and is written and directed by Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground) with Raimi and Campbell producing. It stars Alyssa Sutherland (Vikings) and Lily Sullivan (Camp), and the story is about “two estranged sisters [whose] reunion is cut short when flesh-possessing demons thrust them into a battle for survival,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Which means the horror won’t be in the woods this time, it’s in the city.
“I’m thrilled to bring Evil Dead back to its original home at New Line 40 years after the release of the first film,” Raimi said in a statement. “The company’s history as pioneers of horror speaks for itself. I’m equally excited to be working with Lee Cronin, whose gifts as a storyteller make him the ideal filmmaker to continue the enduring legacy of the franchise.”
The franchise has indeed had a rich legacy. After Raimi and Campbell’s three cult classics (released in 1981, 1987, and 1991 respectively), there was a well-received remake in 2013 and a Campbell-starring, Raimi-produced TV show called Ash vs. Evil Dead that ran from 2015 to 2018, not to mention video games, comics, and more. But none of those constituted a big-screen “Evil Dead 4.” And now it’s finally coming.
“The Evil Dead movies filled my brain with terror and awe when I first saw them at nine years old,” Cronin said in a statement. “I am excited and humbled to be resurrecting the most iconic of evil forces for both the fans and a whole new generation.”
As for how this film will tie into the mythology set up by all the previous installments, we don’t know. But the casting does get the Ash stamp of approval. “At its core, Evil Dead is about ordinary people overcoming extraordinarily terrifying situations,” Campbell said in a statement. “I can’t wait for Alyssa and Lily to fill the blood-soaked shoes of those who have come before them and carry on that tradition.”
There’s no release date set but with filming starting this month, we’re looking at a likely 2022 release.
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