WhenBruce Campbellreturned for a third time as Ash Williams inArmy of Darkness, the final movie in the originalEvil Deadtrilogy, the film inadvertently set up the future TV series ofAsh vs Evil Dead. However, the original planned ending of the movie set up a fourth film with Ash having awakened from an induced sleep to discover he had slept beyond his own time to discover a future world where things had clearly all gone wrong. Now a new comic book series is coming to tell the story of what could have happened if that apocalyptic vision had been continued on.
Army of Darknesswas a departure from the previousEvil Deadmovies, withAsh having been transported into the pastby the Necronomicon and finding himself in a Medieval setting for his third time out. Although the original cut of the movie delivered Ash back to his own time, an alternative ending left things in pretty much the same place asAsh vs Evil Dead, with Ash once again heading off into a dangerous future, but with the show being canceled, that story is once again being left untold.
NowArmy of Darkness Foreveris finally giving fans the story they have been wanting for thirty years, paying off both the ending ofArmy of DarknessandAsh v Evil Dead. According to the preview by Dynamite Comics:
“The story picks up immediately after the events of the beloved film, jumping between three fun timelines. The Techno Army of Darkness of 2093, the S-Mart aisles of 1993, and the middle ages chaos of Castle Kandar, all three get the spotlight in this series. Superstar creator Tony Fleecs, from the best-selling series Stray Dogs and contributions to other franchises like My Little Pony and Gargoyles, returns to the franchise following covers for Army of Darkness vs. Reanimator: Necronomicon Rising. He’s setting out to give fans of Ash Williams the ultimate story they’ve always wanted!”
Related:Evil Dead Rise Is the Scariest Movie of the Year So Far
Just as Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams discovered the Necronomicon and the Deadites after finding a recording of the past, this year sawEvil Dead Risehit theaters to deliver a gruesome reminder of how brutal the franchise can be, and how it has moved on from needing Ash Williams at its heart.
The film changed up the setting to a suburban tower block, and saw an all new cast of characters being caught up in a surge of Deadite activity. While the film does have some very loose ties to other arms of theEvil Deadfranchise, it very much stands on its own and potentially offers up a number of sequel options going forward.
While it is unlikely we will ever get to see the post-apocalyptic world that Ash would have discovered play out in live action,Bruce Campbellhas stated that he would be happy to voice Ash again in a potential animated movie or TV series, so perhaps not all hope is lost yet of this new story being played out on screen in future.
