“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” Dr. Seuss probably wasn’t talking about Ash vs Evil Dead when he wrote that but he could have been. It’s the best fit for that mawkish quote I can think of. Ash vs Evil Dead was cancelled after three seasons, either from a drop in viewership or exhausting the world’s supply of fake blood, who can say. I wasn’t upset when I heard the news, I was just grateful that the show existed at all. For a fan of the original Evil Dead trilogy, three seasons of a sequel series after decades of nothing was a godsend. Alongside the three 80-minutes movies are now thirty 30-minute episodes. Ash fans should be jubilant at how the content has multiplied yet remained at a high quality.
But the show ended on a cliffhanger. There was enough character resolution for it to feel like an ending but not the ending. Ash wakes up in an apocalyptic future, evil having destroyed the world as we know it, and has to fight on a whole new battlefield. However, it’s not really new. This isn’t the first time Ash has woken up in this situation. The original ending of Army of Darkness saw Ash oversleep after his adventure in the middle ages and find himself in a destroyed future London as the credits roll. This is ending was used for the UK cut of the film, the only one I was familiar with for years after seeing it on TV, and I’ve never cared for the much happier reshot US ‘canon’ ending. After all, the guiding principle of the series has always been ‘Ash must suffer.’
So for those upset about the apocalyptic cliffhanger of Ash vs Evil Dead I simply ask, “first time?” I’ve been dying to see Ash in that setting since seeing Army of Darkness as a kid. The TV show picked up years after the US ending of the film and for three seasons we got Ash battling deadites in the present day, which I can’t be too upset about because it was pretty damn great. Then, when it looked to be finally happening, the apocalypse beckoning, the show ended and I had to laugh. It felt fitting in a way. A final gag. Ash’s story ends this way once again: a cliffhanger never to be resolved but rather teased twice.
But now there are rumblings the story might continue. Bruce Campbell has spoken about an animated Evil Dead series being in the works with him returning once again as Ash, and the apocalyptic setting would be the ideal direction. It could continue on from Ash vs Evil Dead for fans of that show but if not, no worries. For viewers only familiar with the films, they’d see it as a sequel to Army of Darkness. It’s perfect!
Ash vs Evil Dead was a combination of ideas for what a sequel to the trilogy could be. For years the Raimi brothers started and scrapped various scripts for a fourth movie which then became the TV series, melding a bunch of those ideas together. At least one version was even a continuation of the original ending of Army of Darkness but that was put aside. Now it seems like the most logical step for the franchise. Other films can still be produced, tied to the same lore tangentially but not overtly, like the 2013 reboot and Rise, while Ash is off in his own more comedic corner.
Ash vs Evil Dead was starting to feel a little tired in its third season, which began and ended well but meandered in the middle. The same beats of possessions and deaths and resurrections were becoming repetitive. Therefore, an entirely new sequel series might be the better option than a fourth season. Kelly and Pablo could appear but they also don’t need to. It feels like the show did everything it could do with them. Ruby is gone for good (both versions) and a new antagonist would serve the story well. Although I would like to see Brandy again; I feel there’s still a lot more potential story with Ash embracing fatherhood.
Bruce Campbell has previously stated he’s retired from playing Ash unless Sam Raimi returns for another movie. While I would love to see a fourth movie I think that’s nothing but a pipe dream. An animated series seems like the best option now, and perhaps the only one. The apocalypse is expensive. I was surprised at the scale of the series finale of Ash vs Evil Dead but there’s no way the show could have matched that for an entire season if it had been recommissioned. Animation can. Campbell is getting older and voicing Ash will be the more viable option for him, and animation will offer the scale live action can’t at this price tag. It’s the one way to truly do justice to the premise.
Ash vs The Apocalypse offers a lot of opportunities for something different. The end of Ash vs Evil Dead wasn’t just set at the end of the world but in the future, too. There are sci-fi ideas the franchise can play with. Ash vs robots would be fun. Ash vs technology: not an evil cabin but an evil futuristic smart home. There are still deadites, of course, but there’s only so many times you can see them take a chainsaw to the gut. I’d love to see more of the Dark Ones; their limited appearance in the show was great and now we can see them unleashed. The Knights of Sumeria felt like a bit of a wasted concept in Ash vs Evil Dead but a sequel show can do it justice. People who act and speak like medieval knights feel more interesting in a futuristic setting. And that heavily-modified Delta we got a glimpse of would be awesome to see in action. The apocalypse presents a whole new genre to parody and play with. It’s time for ‘Mad Ash.’
