We’ve got the release of Evil Dead Rise to look forward to on April 21st, but lucky fans and journalists are seeing the film at the SXSW festival tonight. In a special interview with Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi, and Robert Tapert, Fangoria got down to the knitty-gritty of what we all want to see, more Evil Dead movies. The topic of Fede Alvarez‘s remake/requel/whatever Evil Dead film came up when talking about the three volumes of Naturom Demonto books in the series.
“We think the third one may have wound up in Fede’s film,” Raimi says, referring to director Fede Alvarez’s 2013 Evil Dead reboot. “I’m not sure. Rob, what’s Fede’s take on it? Is it simply a remake of the first Evil Dead’s story?”
Tapert went further telling about plans that they have for the series, but there’s one block in the way, Bruce Campbell.
“In Fede’s mind,” Tapert responds, “if you ask him, he did a remake, even though there’s an incongruity in there of the replica of the [Oldsmobile] Delta 88 covered in leaves at that cabin. So it’s a bit confusing. But what we want to do is bring back Bruce and Jane Levy [from the ’13 movie] and tie it in with this movie [Rise] and have the beginning of the ultimate showdown. But Bruce is standing in the way.”
Bruce Campbell Shifts The Block To Sam Raimi
In earthshaking news from this interview, Bruce Campbell actually went as far as to put the onus on Sam Raimi for a new Evil Dead film starring Bruce as Ash.
“Hey, Michael, I’ll go on record here!” Campbell says as Raimi and Tapert laugh. “These guys don’t scare me! I worked on Xena, so nothing scares me. If Sam says, ‘I, Sam Raimi, will direct another Evil Dead movie,’ then I, Bruce Campbell, will consider being in it. I don’t want to be Ash, tended to by other people. Sam’s the meanest director I’ve ever worked with, and Ash needs a little bit of that to shine. And I think Sam’s the only director now who I won’t punch in the face making an Evil Dead movie! I’m just saying, I’ve called Rob and Sam out, I’m not the coward that they think I am; I just want the right circumstances. Because Sam, even though he’s done studio movies, he’s still a good director! [Raimi laughs] So, I want Sam! I’ll do it for Sam.”
What about stepping behind the director’s chair himself? Campbell had this to say.
“I would only do it with Sam’s blessing,” he replies. “I wouldn’t want him to get pissed off. You know, they would probably say, ‘OK, Bruce, go ahead and direct one,’ and then they’d see a few weeks [of footage] and then there would be mysterious illnesses, and Sam would have to step in. I don’t know, it’s actually kind of fun just being the face of it a little bit at times. I’m just an ambassador for the series now.”
But What About Evil Dead Rise?
Campbell and co. were super excited for Evil Dead Rise and had nothing but good things to say about it.
“We wanted to show audiences the next generation of Evil Dead, which is way more horrifying now. I mean, the shit that you can do and the tricks that you can play now? This audience is doomed! And this was made with the best crew in all of New Zealand. Because of all the movies and TV shows that shoot down there, they have great crews—and they all have to suck up to Rob Tapert, because he’s doled out a lot of work over the years. [Tapert laughs] So Lee [Cronin, Rise’s writer/director] had one of the best teams you could ever get.”
Finally, Sam Raimi got back in on whether or not he’d direct another horror film. His last directorial job was Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but that wasn’t a full-fledged horror flick.
“I’d like to direct another horror picture. I’m looking for another good horror script to make right now.”
All of this adds up to a great future for the Evil Dead series. You don’t have to wait very long to see the next film, Evil Dead Rise. It releases in theaters on April 21st, 2023.
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Source: Fangoria
