The actor famously starred as Ash Williams in the original trilogy – but is he back to face the Deadites once again?
Until now, one of the things all the Evil Dead films have had in common is the presence of Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams.
Ash was the protagonist of Sam Raimi’s original trilogy (as well as the Starz TV show Ash vs Evil Dead), and although he was absent for much of Fede Álvarez’s 2013 reboot he did make an uncredited appearance in the post-credits sequence.
So, with a new Evil Dead film arriving in cinemas this weekend, you might be wondering if Campbell will be reprising his role again this time around. Read on for everything you need to know about if Bruce Campbell is in Evil Dead Rise.
Is Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead Rise?
Yes, Bruce Campbell does indeed make a cameo appearance in Evil Dead Rise, albeit he is not reprising his legendary role as Ash, nor is he actually seen on screen.
Instead, this time he plays an unnamed priest whose voice can be heard muttering incantations on a record that is played by the kids after they find it next to the Book of the Dead.
Funnily enough, writer/director Lee Cronin has previously joked he would offer a cash prize to the first person to find the cameo, explaining during an interview with Empire that “Bruce has a small presence in the movie”. He said: “The first person to figure it out and send me a tweet, I’ll give them 50 bucks.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with NME, he teased that the voice we presume to be a priest could actually belong to Ash after all. “The fun part is, that’s not necessarily Bruce Campbell playing someone else,” he said. “That could very well be Ash Williams.”
Big props to fans for the effort, but I’m retired as Ash. #timetofrysomeotherfish https://t.co/Di1aeBV0dl
— Bruce Campbell (@GroovyBruce) April 23, 2018
And it turns out that Campbell actually has another, even smaller role in the film, with Cronin telling Digital Spy: “He did some Foley work for me as well. There’s a scene around an eye where there’s some munching and Bruce created that sound by eating an apple furiously for me.”
Campbell also serves as an executive producer of the film and has spoken very highly of Cronin’s work, warning audiences during an interview with Bloody Disgusting that they “can expect to be very disturbed”.
The actor announced back in 2018 that he was officially retiring from the role of Ash, writing the news on Twitter in response to fan campaign to bring back Ash vs Evil Dead following it’s cancellation by Starz.
Evil Dead Rise is released in UK cinemas on Friday 21st April. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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