Lee Cronin's recent Evil Dead revival, Evil Dead Rise, didn't leave many survivors, but Beth (Lily Sullivan) managed to walk away from her horrific Deadite ordeal after being forced to dispatch several members of her own family in the most brutal ways imaginable (her niece Kassie also made it... but is going to need a lot of therapy).
We recently learned that Vermin director Sébastien Vaniček is set to co-write and helm a new Evil Dead movie, which is described as a spin-off. This would seem to suggest that the project won't be a direct sequel to Rise, but that doesn't mean there won't be any connections, and it sounds like Beth may return.
While speaking to Comicbook.com, Sullivan hinted that she might be set to reprise her role for the new movie.
"There's been many, many conversations, many alt paths, many possibilities, which are all quite whack and fun and great. And whatever ends up coming to fruition, I'm excited for it. But yeah, I can't say anything on it though, but yeah, excited. It's all literally up to the universe of the Evil Dead gods. In a great way, until you cross the bridge, that's just what it is. The blessings of this industry, and the curse, you have to walk into the unknown."
Beth has been decribed as the franchise's "new Ash," but what about the old one?
Whether this new movie will bring back Bruce Campbell's Ash Williams is unclear, but the actor has indicated that we haven't seen the last of the original Evil Dead trilogy's chainsaw-wielding protagonist following the series finale of Starz's Ash Vs. The Evil Dead, so there's a chance he may appear, even if it's just to set up a future instalment of crossover.
"I think the stories will progress a little more now," Campbell said while promoting Rise last year. "We're going to try and do them more like every two or three years rather than every 10 years. It's also the first time Sam is working with his brother Ivan to create an overall Bible that will give future writers and directors an idea of where this thing should go next to potentially tie in some of these stories. So, I think it's going to get a little more tied in as the years go by. But because it's all about the books. It could be a book in the past, a book in the future. It's yet to be determined."
Written and directed by Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground) the movie stars Lily Sullivan (I Met a Girl, Barkskins), Alyssa Sutherland (The Mist, Vikings), Morgan Davies (Strom Boy, The End), Gabrielle Echols (Reminiscence) and introducing Nell Fisher (Northspur).
"Moving the action out of the woods and into the city, Rise tells the twisted tale of two estranged sisters, played by Sutherland and Sullivan, whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable."
Evil Dead Rise was produced by Rob Tapert (Ash vs Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) and executive produced by series creator and horror icon Sam Raimi and cult legend himself, Bruce Campbell, along with John Keville, Macdara Kelleher, Richard Brener, Dave Neustadter, Romel Adam and Victoria Palmieri.