Evil Dead
Official franchise logo
Created by	Sam Raimi
Original work	Within the Woods (1978)
Owner	Renaissance Pictures
Years	1978–present
Print publications
Comics	List of comics
Graphic novel(s)	Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness (2007) Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash (2007) Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors (2009)
Films and television
Film(s)	The Evil Dead (1981) Evil Dead II (1987) Army of Darkness (1992) Evil Dead (2013) Evil Dead Rise (2023) Evil Dead Burn (2026)
Short film(s)	Within the Woods (1978)
Television series	Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–18)
Theatrical presentations
Musical(s)	Evil Dead The Musical
Games
Video game(s)	List of video games

Evil Dead is an Americanhorrormedia franchise created bySam Raimi consisting of five feature films and a television series. The series follows various characters as they battle demonic forces unleashed by an ancient book called theNecronomicon Ex-Mortis.

The protagonist,Ashley Joanna "Ash" Williams (Bruce Campbell), appears in the original trilogy includingThe Evil Dead (1981),Evil Dead II (1987), andArmy of Darkness (1992), all written and directed by Raimi, produced byRobert G. Tapert and starring Campbell. The franchise has since expanded into other formats, including video games, comic books and amusical.

The film franchise was resurrected in 2013 withEvil Dead, both areboot and a loose continuation of the series directed byFede Álvarez, who co-wrote the screenplay withRodo Sayagues. It was produced by Raimi, Campbell and Tapert, featuring a new protagonist in Mia Allen (Jane Levy). A television series,Ash vs. Evil Dead, premiered on cable networkStarz in 2015, lasted for three seasons, and ended in 2018, with Campbell announcing ananimatedrevival to be in active development in July 2022.^[1] It starred Bruce Campbell as Ash and was executive produced by Campbell, Raimi and Tapert.^[2][3] A fifth film in the franchise, titledEvil Dead Rise, was theatrically released on April 21, 2023, withLee Cronin serving as writer and director,Alyssa Sutherland andLily Sullivan starring as sisters Ellie and Beth Bixler, Tapert serving as a producer, and Raimi and Campbell both acting as executive producers.^[4][5][6][7]

Each film of the franchise has received generally positive reviews from critics, with the original trilogy developing acult following, and has grossed a collective $300 million worldwide.

Filmed in 1979 and released in 1981, this is the first film in the series. It introduces the series'protagonist Ash, the Book of the Dead, and the Deadites.

Released in 1987, this film is a sequel to the original, continuing where the last film ended (a recap of the previous film is shown in the beginning). This entry shows the horrors of Ash's continuing battle with theNecronomicon Ex-Mortis and the Deadites. It also introduces elements of slapstick humor that came to define the series.

Filmed in 1991 and released in spring of 1993 in the United States, this is the third film in the franchise (and the last featuring Ash Williams taking a lead role so far), taking Ash back in time to England in 1300 AD. The movie has horror attributes, but is based mainly on slapstick and action.

Evil Dead is the title of a film that serves as a soft reboot and a continuation of theEvil Dead franchise. Unlike the first three films, this one does not feature the character of Ash Williams in a major role (Ash only appears briefly in apost-credits scene) and instead follows a new protagonist named Mia Allen. The film is considered a continuation of the franchise, and plans to feature both Ash and Mia in future installments have been discussed.

In October 2019, Raimi announced at theNew York Comic Con that a new film was officiallygreen-lit and in development.Robert G. Tapert was set to produce, while Raimi and Campbell served as executive producers only, all under theirGhost House Pictures banner.^[8] In June 2020,Lee Cronin was chosen as a director with a script he wrote. Raimi chose the filmmaker from a list of potential directors to continue the franchise. Officially titledEvil Dead Rise, the project was announced to be developed byNew Line Cinema and released onHBO Max. Principal photography commenced on June 6, 2021, inNew Zealand.^[4][6][9] In May 2021,Alyssa Sutherland andLily Sullivan had been cast in the film,^[6] followed by Gabrielle Echols,Morgan Davies, and Nell Fisher in June,^[10] and Mia Challis in July.^[11] Cronin stated the production was halfway completed by July 2021,^[12] and filming concluded on October 27, 2021. The filmmaker stated that the project used over 6,500 liters of fake blood during production.^[13]Evil Dead Rise was theatrically released on April 21, 2023.^[14][7]

In February 2024, it was announced that a spin-off film is currently in development. Sébastien Vaniček will serve as director from a script he co-wrote with Florent Bernard.^[15] Selected by Raimi to helm the new installment in the series, the film's plot is currently under wraps. Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert will serve as producers, with Ghost House Pictures producing the project.^[16][17] In December 2024, Vaniček revealed the title to beEvil Dead Burn along with a release scheduled tentatively for 2026.^[18]

Evil Dead Burn will release theatrically on July 24, 2026.Hunter Doohan,Luciane Buchanan,Souheila Yacoub, andTandi Wright, are set to star.^[19][20]

In March 2023, Sam Raimi expressed interest in developing multiple sequels withBruce Campbell reprising his role asAsh Williams in a starring role, while also expressing hope for future developments also featuringMia Allen fromEvil Dead (2013).^[21] Later that month, Campbell stated that after positive experiences as a producer onEvil Dead Rise, he would consider reprising his lead role in a future film if Raimi were to return as director, reversing his previous "retirement" from the role following the cancellation ofAsh vs Evil Dead.^[22]

By April of the same year, writer/director Lee Cronin stated that he has ideas for a series of futureEvil Dead installments serving as direct sequels toEvil Dead Rise, that he hopes to see realized.^[23] That same month, Campbell announced that Sam and Ivan Raimi were co-writing abible to outline the future of the franchise; stating that films that follow will adhere to the overall outline, with current plans including releasing a new film in the franchise "every couple" years, as opposed to the most recent activity of once every decade.^[24]

In April 2024, it was announced that another mainline film is currently in development. Francis Galluppi will serve as writer and director. Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert will serve as producers, with Ghost House Pictures producing the project.^[25]

The series starsBruce Campbell reprising his role as an olderAsh Williams with a supporting cast that includesDana DeLorenzo,Ray Santiago,Lucy Lawless andJill Marie Jones. The series is executive produced by Campbell,Sam Raimi andRob Tapert.^[26] It premiered onStarz on October 31, 2015.

Ash vs Evil Dead proved to be a critically well-received show, earning a 98% from Rotten Tomatoes. Four days before its premiere, the show was picked up for a second ten-episode season.^[27] The series lasted for three seasons (30 episodes) before it was canceled by Starz in April 2018.

Following the cancellation ofAsh vs Evil Dead, Bruce Campbell announced he was officially retired from portraying the character of Ash, although he would continue to voice the character in animation. Subsequently, on July 25, 2022, Campbell announced that ananimatedrevival ofAsh vs Evil Dead was in active development, with Campbell returning as the voice of Ash.^[28] In a July 26, 2024 interview withEntertainment Weekly, Campbell confirmed the series was still in development. Saying: “I'll do Ash's voice all day long, because my voice hasn't aged as much as I have."^[29] On October 29, 2024, Campbell provided another update, stating that the series would not be a continuation ofAsh vs Evil Dead.^[30]

A prototype short film,Within the Woods, was produced by Raimi on a micro-budget to market his concept and acquire funding from producers and studios for a feature-length film. The short was a meager success. Despite this, the release proceeded to spawn the entire franchise.

In January 1978,Bruce Campbell was a college dropout who had just quit his job as ataxicab driver. Sam Raimi was studying literature atMichigan State University withRobert Tapert, who was finishing his economics degree. While putting the finishing touches onIt's Murder!, Tapert suggested doing a feature-length film to Raimi. Raimi felt it impossible, stating that they could never acquire the funding. Campbell declared: "I could always move back home." Tapert feared a career infisheries/wildlife, while Raimi was afraid that he would have to go back to work at his dad's home furnishing store. These were the practical reasons that convinced the three to put forth a feature-length film.^[31] The three were big fans of the comedy genre, but they decided not to produce a comedy as they felt "a feature-length yuck fest just didn't compute". A well-noted scene fromIt's Murder moved Raimi to write the short filmClockwork. The three felt the result was very effective and represented a new direction that their films could take, that of a semi-successful horror film.^[32]

This would later lead to research of low-budget horror films at the localdrive-in theater. The many films that they watched were the "two films for two dollars," allowing them the chance to document the behavior of what would become their target audience. Campbell said: "The message was very clear: Keep the pace fast and furious, and once the horror starts, never let up. 'The gorier the merrier' became our prime directive." The films they watched includedMassacre at Central High andRevenge of the Cheerleaders. The idea to do a "prototype" was commissioned, to prove not only to themselves, but also to potential investors, that they were capable of doing a full-length horror film. The same year, at Michigan State, Raimi had been studyingH. P. Lovecraft and was most impressed withNecronomicon, or simplyThe Book of the Dead. From these rough concepts, he concocted a short story where a group of four friends unwittingly dig up an Indian burial ground and unleash horrific spirits and demons.^[33] In the spring of 1978, filming ofWithin the Woods started over a three-day weekend, on a budget of $1,600.^[34]

Within the Woods, as well as serving as a prototype, had impressed the filmmakers. For a marketing strategy, a screening was arranged at their former high school, with a positive response.^[35]

Filming was first commissioned for the summer of 1979 in Michigan. In order to organize the budget,Sam Raimi,Robert Tapert andBruce Campbell bought a few "how to make an independent film" guide publications. The budget was originally to be $150,000, while shooting with aSuper 8 camera. However, due to technical difficulties, it was decided to move it up to16 mm format, as they wanted to film the project in the style of the many low-budget films at the time that had come out in the 1970s.^[36] Since they had little experience in the film industry, the three felt they should buy business suits and briefcases as a means to convince investors that they "had all the answers." A man named Andy Grainger, who was a friend of Tapert and owner of a series of movie theaters, was the first primary investor. He stated: "Fellas, no matter what, just keep the blood running." As a tribute to him, there's a scene in the finished film where an old film projector whirs to life and "projects" blood running down the screen.^[37]

Most importantly, Grainger provided the name of a distributor inNew York City whom they could approach for possible distribution. The company was Levitt-Pickman Films, who most recently was famous forGroove Tube, starring a very youngChevy Chase. The filmmakers took a train at $40 each, as they knew none of their cars could make an entire round trip. One of Campbell's old girlfriends named Andrea allowed them to stay at her apartment. Andrea's cat fell asleep on Raimi's face without even disturbing him; Raimi, who is allergic to cats, had his eyes swollen shut.^[37]

List indicators

• This table only shows characters that have appeared in three or more films in the series.
• A dark gray cell indicates that the character was not in the film or that the character's presence in the film has yet to be announced.
• A^P indicates the actor portrayed the possessed version of the character.
• An^A indicates an appearance through archival footage or stills.
• A^C indicates a cameo role.
• An^M indicates the actor was part of the main cast for the season.
• An^R indicates the actor was part of the recurring cast for the season.
• An^G indicates the actor was part of the guest cast for the season.
• An^S indicates a role shared with another actor.
• A^U indicates an uncredited role.
• A^V indicates a voice-only role.

There have been multipleEvil Deadvideo games:

• The Evil Dead (1984) forCommodore 64 andZX Spectrum
• Evil Dead: Hail to the King (2000) forPlayStation,Dreamcast andPC
• Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick (2003) forPlayStation 2 andXbox
• Evil Dead Pinball (2003) for mobile^[70]
• Evil Dead: Regeneration (2005) for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC
• Army of Darkness: Defense (2011) foriOS andAndroid
• Evil Dead: The Game (2011) for iOS
• Evil Dead: Endless Nightmare (2016) for iOS and Android
• Evil Dead: Virtual Nightmare (2018) for Oculus Go^[71]
• Evil Dead: The Game (2022) forPlayStation 4 and5,Xbox Series X/S,Xbox One and PC^[72][73][74]
• RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead (2024) forNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,Windows,Xbox One, andXbox Series X/S^[75][76][77]

Ash Williams also appears as a playable character, along with Kelly and Pablo from theAsh vs. Evil Dead television series, inDeploy and Destroy, a competitive multiplayer FPS available for iOS and Android, and also as a non-playable character inTelltale Games' gamePoker Night 2. He also appears as a playable character in the asymmetrical horror gameDead by Daylight and as an outfit inFortnite Battle Royale.

In 1992,Dark Horse Comics produced a mini-series adaptation ofArmy of Darkness adapted and illustrated byJohn Bolton. Atrade paperback of this series was released byDynamite Entertainment on September 25, 2006.

In 2008, Dark Horse revisited the franchise with a four issue adaptation ofThe Evil Dead written byMark Verheiden and once again illustrated by John Bolton.

In 2004,Dynamite Entertainment acquired the license to publish titles based onArmy of Darkness and, in conjunction withDevil's Due Publishing, released theArmy of Darkness: Ashes 2 Ashes mini-series. A second mini-series,Army of Darkness: Shop till You Drop Dead followed in 2005. Later that year, Dynamite separated itself from Devil's Due and began focusing entirely on self-published titles featuring theArmy of Darkness franchise. This included an ongoing series that began in 2005 and saw Ash battling other horror icon such asHerbert West andDracula. The series lasted thirteen issues before being rebooted with a second volume in 2007. The second series lasted twenty-seven issues before coming to an end. Over the years, there have also been several one-shot specials as well as crossovers with a wide variety of characters such as,Marvel Zombies,Darkman,Freddy Krueger,Jason Voorhees,Xena,Danger Girl and evenBarack Obama. The series was then rebooted in 2013 and started over from the last scene in titular film because Ash misspoke the words S-Mart was sent back in time to the Medieval times where the wiseman has been possessed, Ash fights through many battles with the same characters from the film. At the end of this series Ash proposes to Sheila, in the next series "Ash gets hitched" they get married but Ash gets sent forward in time when he accidentally speaks a phrase that opens up a vortex. He wants to get back to Sheila but runs into many situations causing delays, he is currently in space fighting the evil.

In 2015, Space Goat Productions acquired the license to publish titles based onEvil Dead 2.^[78] The company has released, or was planning on releasing, the following titles:

• Evil Dead 2: Beyond Dead By Dawn, a three-issue mini-series which debuted in June 2015^[79]
• Evil Dead 2: Tales of the Ex-Mortis, a three-issue anthology which debuted in August 2015.^[80]
• Evil Dead 2: Cradle of the Damned, a three-issue mini-series which debuted in January 2016^[81]
• A series ofEvil Dead 2: Revenge of ... one-shots, which began with Hitler in March 2016 and will be followed by Dracula, the Martians, Jack the Ripper and Krampus
• Evil Dead 2: Dark Ones Rising, a three-issue mini-series which debuted in August 2016^[82]
• Evil Dead 2: The official board game, a board game made about the film.

The official board game was funded through Kickstarter in 2018, but Space Goat Productions never produced the game, nor refunded money to the investors. They ceased all communications with customers and investors that year and refused to discuss the game with media.^[83]

In the documentaryThe Untold Saga of The Evil Dead,Rob Tapert states thatNew Line Cinema andWarner Bros. Pictures wanted to doAsh vs. Freddy vs. Jason: "We thought about it for one second but we knew we would have totally trashed the franchise in doing that, in that there would be no reason to reunite Bruce and Sam forEvil Dead 4 whatever that would be nor would there be any reason to go back and reinvent the originalEvil Dead with a hot new filmmaker". Two comic book series were produced based on this concept, titledFreddy vs. Jason vs. Ash andFreddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors.

The production team ofGeorge Reinblatt, Christopher Bond and Frank Cipolla created anOff Broadway show titledEvil Dead: The Musical, based on the film series. Its New York run was directed by Bond andHinton Battle, who also choreographed the show. Ryan Ward played the part of Ash. Tying in with themidnight movie plot of a group of friends visiting a wooded cabin and unleashing untold evil, performances did not start until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Previews began October 1 and the show opened November 1 at theNew World Stages. It was announced on January 31, 2007, thatEvil Dead: The Musical's New York production at New World Stages would close on February 17, 2007. Toronto producers announced a new production of the show, also starring Ryan Ward, at the Diesel Playhouse. The new production started its running May 1, 2007, and has been announced to end on September 8, 2007, which won theDora Audience Choice Award and praised by theToronto Star.^[84]

In 2017, the English comedian Rob Kemp created and performed the stage showThe Elvis Dead, a retelling ofEvil Dead II in the style ofElvis Presley.

InItaly,The Evil Dead was released under the titleLa Casa ("The House") andEvil Dead II becameLa Casa II. These were followed by three unrelated movies:Umberto Lenzi'sLa Casa 3 (a.k.a.Ghosthouse) (1988), Fabrizio Laurenti'sLa Casa 4 (a.k.a.Witchery) (1988) andClaudio Fragasso'sLa Casa 5 (a.k.a.Beyond Darkness) (1990). This is similar to what has happened inGeorge A. Romero'sLiving Dead series starting withZombi 2.House II: The Second Story (1987) andThe Horror Show (1989) were retitledLa Casa 6 andLa Casa 7, respectively, in their Italian releases.^[85]

Evil Dead influenced numerous directors, such asPeter Jackson andEdgar Wright,^[86] and inspired films such asShaun of the Dead,The Cabin in the Woods,Bubba Ho-Tep,Dead Alive,Dead Snow, andTucker & Dale vs. Evil.^[87]The Cabin in the Woods features many references to the film and even features Deadites and the possessed trees, although this is considered more a reference than a direct sequel. The 2012Swedish language filmWither serves as an unofficial remake ofThe Evil Dead, starring Patrik Almkvist as Albin Wiliams (Ash Williams)^[88] In 2020, Steve Villenevue premiered the documentaryHail to the Deadites, which focuses on the franchise's fandom and legacy. It features interviews from people involved with the film, such as Bruce Campbell, as well as with fans.^[89] Moreover,Death Whisperer andDeath Whisperer 2, twoThai supernatural horror films in 2023 and 2024, the directorTaweewat Wantha admitted that he used the haunting style of the ghosts inEvil Dead as inspiration.^[90]

TheEvil Dead films and the character of Ash influenced 1990sfirst-person shooter video games such asDoom,Duke Nukem 3D andBlood.Duke Nukem quotes so many lines from Ash that Bruce Campbell stated that he was angered by not being paid for them.^[91][92]Evil Dead was cited as an inspiration for the originalDoom.^[93]

Bruce Campbell directed and starred in a film titledMy Name Is Bruce.^[94] It does not continue the story ofArmy of Darkness but is a fictionalized portrayal of Bruce living his everyday life, in which he is erroneously believed to be as heroic as the Ash character and is hired to fight an ancient spirit. The film was released to a limited number of theaters on October 26, 2008, and was released onDVD andBlu-ray on February 10, 2009. A 2021 episode ofCreepshow, "Public Television of the Dead", serves as acrossover with the franchise, featuringTed Raimi (portraying himself, who previously portrayed the Deadite Henrietta Knowby and Chet Kaminski inEvil Dead II andAsh vs. Evil Dead respectively) as he accidentally uses theNecronomicon to summon Deadites at a television station.^[95]

Awards Pictures, a company that attempted to begin a new line of movies in the series in 2004, announced plans in May 2012 to film anEvil Dead 4, one that has nothing to do with the original films. Sam Raimi sued Awards Pictures in an attempt to stop them from making the film, because he planned to someday film one himself.^{[citation needed]} In August 2012, U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer entered a default judgment that "permanently enjoined" Awards Pictures from using the namesEvil Dead,Evil Dead: Genesis of the Necronomicon,Evil Dead: Genesis of the Necronomicon: Part 2 orEvil Dead: Consequences "as or as part of the title of a motion picture, television program, video game, play, book or any other form of entertainment provided or to be provided through any media."^[96]

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