Bruce Campbell has finally made it clear on social media: he won't be playing Ash again. The overdue confession came last Wednesday (August 20), when he posted on X: "Apologies if this is news to anyone—it's hard to communicate clearly with everyone. I stepped away from the role after Ash vs. Evil Dead."
The 68-year-old Campbell first played Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's 1981 film The Evil Dead, followed by Evil Dead II and Army Of Darkness. His last live-action performance as the character came in the three-season TV series Ash vs. Evil Dead, which aired from 2015 to 2018. In other words, the chainsaw-wielding man burned into audiences' memories had quietly hung up the role seven years ago—it's just that he's only now spelled it out in his own words.
His reasoning was blunt, with little sugarcoating: "The main reasons are ability and interest, fifty-fifty. I didn't want to shortchange Ash with diminished skills, and as a borderline Geezer, my interests have moved elsewhere. I will always love Evil Dead, to the bone."
It's worth noting that Campbell hasn't actually left the franchise—he's simply changed roles. He served as executive producer on both 2023's Evil Dead Rise and this year's Evil Dead Burn, and he'll continue in that same behind-the-scenes capacity for the upcoming Evil Dead Wrath. Speaking about the franchise's shift in direction during an interview this past June, he said: "We've left the cabin, we've left Sam Raimi, and we've left Ash and Bruce Campbell." He also noted that Evil Dead Rise grossed over $147 million worldwide, making it the highest-earning film in the entire franchise—proof, in a way, that the series is doing just fine without him.
Starring Souheila Yacoub, Evil Dead Burn follows a widow trapped in her late husband's family home as a Deadite possession slowly spreads. NME gave the film three stars, calling it "not the worst entry in the franchise, but ultimately not scary enough," and noting that compared to Rise's all-out gore with props like cheese graters, Burn "plays it a little safe."
Adding weight to Campbell's announcement is the fact that he revealed back in March that he'd been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer, describing it as "treatable" but not "curable," and saying treatment would take priority over work. At the time he wrote: "Don't worry, I'm a tough old bastard, and I have a great support system, so I expect to be around for a while yet."
Written and directed by Francis Galluppi, Evil Dead Wrath is set in 1972 and is slated for release on April 7, 2028.
