Perhaps we haven’t seen the last of Ash Williams just yet. Played byBruce Campbellin the classis Sam Raimi horror flickThe Evil Deadand its two sequels, Campbell more recently reprised his role as Ash in the Starz television seriesAsh vs. Evil Dead. After that show ended, the B-movie legend announced his retirement from the role, declaring “Ash has left the building.”
Campbell clearly has love for Ash and theEvil Deadfranchise, and his decision to step away from playing the character is actually pretty solid. The actor has explained how his body just can’t keep up with the physical demands of playing the horror hero. By the end of the last season ofAsh vs. Evil Dead, he was pretty firm in his decision that he didn’t want to have to go through it again now that he’s in his 60s.
“I’m done playing Ash, so that determines a lot of where we go with the franchise without that character, but there are more stories hatever the cliched phrase is, I left it all on table," he recently toldCollider. “I’ve got nothing else to give. The three seasons [ofAsh vs. Evil Dead] were the longest seasons of my life. If you saw the emails pleading with various directors that were like, ‘Hey, my knee’s not working right. Be careful about tomorrow. Let’s have the stunt guy nearby. Hey, I can’t run anymore.’ It just wasan endless physical struggle.”
Feeling that Ash got a rather satisfying ending to his story, Campbell also felt that there was no real need to continue in the role. He added, “I feel we really pushed all the buttons and he fulfilled his destiny written in that ancient book. He was the guy destined to defeat evil in the past, present and future, and he took off with a hot robot chick at the end to go kick in the future. What else do you need?”
Saying goodbye to Ash is still hard to do for bigEvil Deadfans. DespiteCampbell’s retirement from the role, many had still been hoping he’d come back for a cameo in the upcoming movieEvil Dead Rise. Campbell confirmed he won’t be doing that, insisting that he will never physically go to battle with the Deadites again.
The good news is that Ash’s story just might continue someday, even if it’s not in live-action form. Speaking withOK Magazine, Campbell has confirmed that he’s still happy to voice Ash Williams in a potential animated series adaptation. This would let Campbell be able to deliver all of the character’s grooviest one-liners from the comfort of a recording booth, no fake blood necessary. As he bluntly told the magazine, “I can do the voice.”
Those following Bruce Cambpell closely may not be too surprised. He has lent his voice to Ash in the video gameDead by Daylightandwill also voice Ash inEvil Dead: The Game. Still, while video games are fun, they don’t continue the story of Ash and the Ghost-Beaters, and many fans are hoping to see what comes next with an animated follow-up toAsh vs. Evil Dead. Time will tell if it ever happens.
