Pretty soon the dead won’t just be walking, they’ll be evil as well. Ash vs. Evil Dead, a spinoff series based on Sam Raimi’s classic horror trilogy, is coming to Starz with Bruce Campbell reprising his role as the one-handed, Deadite-slaying hero Ashley Williams, for the first time since Army of Darkness (not counting the video games or his post-credits appearance in the 2013 remake of The Evil Dead).
Ash vs. Evil Dead will also star Ray Santiago (Touch) as Pablo Simon Bolivar, a co-worker of Ash’s who becomes his sidekick when the Deadites find Ash again after thirty years on the run – living in a trailer park and working at a big-box store called Ted’s Superclub. Dana DeLorenzo (Growing Up Fisher) will play Kelly Maxwell, Ash’s neighbor and another of his co-workers at the store, who gets drawn into the fight as well (though not quite as willingly as Pablo).
When the show catches up with Ash, he’s trying to lay low by working at Ted’s Superclub during the day and flirting with women in bars by night, always ready to pick up sticks and run if the forces of evil find him again. “I’m bringing everything to the table,” Campbell promised in an interview with Dread Central. “It’s a feisty version of Ash, who’s grizzled and just wants to be left alone.”
Campbell said that he was present during the casting process and described Santiago and DeLorenzo as “very talented,” which is going to be important since “they’ll have their own series of missions” as well as being part of an ensemble cast. He also revealed that the current plan is for a show that’s five seasons long, though we’ll have to wait and see how successful the first season is before definite plans can be made.
Often when shows with similar themes are aired at the same time, both actors and showrunners will politely say that they’re not interested in trying to stir up any kind of rivalry. Perhaps that’s true in some cases, but Campbell isn’t shy about wanting to compete with AMC’s hugely popular post-apocalyptic zombie drama The Walking Dead.
“We are competitive with ‘The Walking Dead,’ like, ‘We’ll show those f***ers!’ [Our] Deadites are very clever. They not stupid shufflers. They can mimic people; they can drive cars. They’re a fun threat. They [‘The Walking Dead’] are right up there [though] with being responsible for the current resurgence [of horror].”
In the Evil Dead movies one of the most powerful tactics at the Deadites’ disposal is the ability to lose their demonic features and mimic their hosts, to plead with and cajole their old friends and relatives. It’s something that Ash has learned (the hard way) not to fall for, but it sounds like the Deadites will still be cunning foes when they return to screens later this year.
Ash vs. Evil Dead will air on Starz in late 2015.
