We hope heeded our advice. The Ash vs. Evil Dead panel was extremely difficult to get into at Comic-Con 2015, even though it was scheduled concurrently with the much-anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens panel, and with good cause. Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Lucy Lawless were on hand to introduce the first full trailer from the upcoming STARZ series, which finally continues the beloved horror franchise that jumpstarted multiple beloved motion picture careers.
Related: Comic-Con 2015: Watch the New ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ Trailer
If you missed it, we feel your pain. But although nothing can compare to the energy at a Comic-Con panel – the “you just had to be there” sort of chemistry that only exists in San Diego for one weekend during the summer – we can easily distill the panel down to four key bullet points, just to keep your motors running until the series premieres on Halloween. These are The Top Four Revelations About Ash vs. Evil Dead from Comic-Con 2015!
Lucy Lawless Plays an Important Part in the Mythology
Lucy Lawless, who seems to be contractually obligated to appear in every television series eventually (see: Battlestar Galactica, Lost, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., et al) will co-star in Ash vs. Evil Dead, but we knew that already. What we didn’t know was her character’s name: Ruby Knowby.
“If you don’t know that name then you ain’t hardcore,” Lawless joked at the panel, and she’s right. Ruby is the other daughter of Professor Raymond Knowby, who originally brought the Necronomicon Ex Mortus back to the cabin where Ash and his friends (and Ruby’s sister Annie) met their horrible fate. Ruby blames Ash for the plague of Deadites, and knowing Ash, she’s probably right.
One Beloved Cast Member Will Not Return
Although most of the cast members of the original Evil Dead movies met their maker – bloodily and badly, of course – that didn’t mean there wasn’t a chance that at least one of them would return for Ash vs. Evil Dead. No, not Bruce Campbell. We’re talking about Ted Raimi, the brother of Sam Raimi who appeared in all the Evil Dead movies in multiple roles, including Deadites, old ladies and random medieval knights.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Ted Raimi will not be making an appearance in Ash vs. Evil Dead… yet. Sam Raimi says he fully intends to cast Ted Raimi in the second season, if the show gets picked up again of course. Bruce Campbell added, “We need him to play seven characters in every episode,” which would indeed correct this imbalance in the series.
There Could Still Be Another ‘Evil Dead’ Movie
Just because Ash vs. Evil Dead is a TV series doesn’t mean that the film franchise is necessarily over. When asked whether another Evil Dead movie was in the cards, Bruce Campbell replied, “Of course!”
As for how the new film would handle Fede Alvarez’s well-received remake of The Evil Dead, the filmmakers revealed that they were big fans of his interpretation of the series, and would like to produce a crossover between both franchises, with Ash (Campbell) teaming up with the surviving cast member of the remake to take on the Deadites together.
Comic-Con is Directly Responsible for ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’
For better or worse, Ash vs. Evil Dead is on you, especially if you ever asked Raimi or Campbell a question at Comic-Con. Sam Raimi opined that whenever he showed off a project at Comic-Con, fans always asked when he was going to make another Evil Dead. “You guys wouldn’t shut your goddamn mouths about it,” Campbell said. “So, you want Ash? You got it. You got as much as you want.”
Let’s hope so. Ash vs. Evil Dead premieres on STARZ on October 31, 2015.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
