At this point, the Evil Dead franchise more or less consists of two continuities. There’s the original continuity including The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, and the television series Ash vs Evil Dead. Additionally, director Fede Alvarez helmed the 2013 remake Evil Dead. Now Lee Cronin will be handling the next installment in the film franchise – Evil Dead Rise – and claims that it will further expand the universe.
Lee Cronin revealed as much while speaking with Total Film via SlashFilm. First, he explained how he moved the traditional cabin in the woods setting to “a more contemporary space.”
As stated below:
“It still needed to maintain some of the claustrophobia and that translated really well from the cabin into an urban environment. This is about a family in a rundown building stuck in their apartment, so it follows the same rhythm but puts it in a more contemporary space.”
He then notes how Evil Dead Rise is set “firmly in the universe.” And, of course, how it will “expand the Evil Dead universe further.” Here’s what he shared:
“It’s firmly in the universe. There’s a lot of fun callbacks, and there are direct lines to the past. But part of the goal of making this movie was to create something that could expand the Evil Dead universe further.”
This definitely sounds promising for fans of the franchise. The 2013 remake proved that the property could work without Bruce Campbell’s iconic character Ash Williams. Of course, that seemed more like a prototype, with Evil Dead Rise paving the actual path for more new stories. We’ll just have to see what comes next and exactly how close the film ties in with its predecessors.
Lee Cronin directed the film while original Evil Dead veterans Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Robert Tapert produced the film.
The film’s cast includes Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan, as well as Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, Mia Challis, and Nell Fisher.
Fans can currently expect Evil Dead Rise to be released exclusively in theaters early next year on April 21, 2023. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates as we have them.