A new Evil Dead film is coming… to HBO Max. According to The Hollywood Reporter, New Line Cinema is producing a new installment of the horror franchise, Evil Dead Rise, with original star Bruce Campbell and director Sam Raimi onboard as executive producers, and Lee Cronin tapped to direct.
The first film hit theaters in 1981, and starred Campbell as Ash Williams, who takes a trip out to a rural cabin with his girlfriend and three other classmates. While there, they discover an ancient tome—the Naturom Demonto—and accidentally resurrect a demon.
The film went on to become a cult classic, and spawned a couple of sequels in the following years: 1987’s Evil Dead II was a bit of a redo/retcon of the first film’s story, putting more of a comedic spin on it, and giving Ash his iconic chainsaw hand. In 1992, they released Army of Darkness, in which Ash was sent back in time to the Middle Ages to fight more demonic creatures.
In the years since, there had been talk of a remake of the original film, but it didn’t go anywhere until 2013. Fede Álvarez directed the reboot, which didn’t feature Ash (until the end credits), featuring a handful of characters visiting a cabin and unwittingly resurrecting some demons. It was designed as a continuation of the franchise, leading to the Starz series Ash vs. Evil Dead, in which Campbell reprised his character for its three season run.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Evil Dead Rise will change locations, following two estranged sisters (The Mist’s Alyssa Sutherland and Jungle‘s Lily Sullivan) in a city who find themselves confronting demons in a “primal battle for survival.” Cronin said in a statement that he’s been watching the films since he was a child, and that he’s “excited and humbled to be resurrecting the most iconic of evil forces for both the fans and a whole new generation.”
The film will begin production in New Zealand starting in June.
