When it was first announced that Fede Alvarez would be remaking ‘Evil Dead’, many fans voiced their concerns and displeasure that yet another classic horror movie is being remade. However, back in June, iconic actor Bruce Campbell took the stage at Wizard World Philadelphia and revealed that he and the filmmakers behind the original film, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, are the ones behind this remake. Now, in an interview with Digital Spy (via Collider), Campbell goes into more detail about what fans can expect from the new version of ‘Evil Dead’.
The first thing that comes to the mind of any fan of the franchise is exactly how much like the original will the remake be? Campbell says:
“There’s none of the original characters. We didn’t want to compare apples with apples. It’s a contemporary movie – just like ‘Evil Dead’ was contemporary in 1979, this is contemporary for young adults now. It’s basically five new kids who are going to have a really bad night with a brand new director – Fede Alvarez, who was handpicked by Sam Raimi. I’ve seen it already; I think it’s definitely fabulous.”
Knowing that many fans aren’t exactly thrilled to see another remake, the actor says that they shouldn’t be worried since he and his crew don’t want to wrong the fanbase that has been loyal to them for so many years:
“We’re really excited and really behind it, [but] it’s going to take a bit to get the ‘Evil Dead’ fans behind it. We know we’ve pissed a lot of them off. We appreciate that and we appreciate their anger and their zeal, but the only thing we want to impress upon them is that we didn’t screw it up. This is going to be just as memorable as [the original] ‘Evil Dead’ without being the same movie”
Finally, in regards to whether we’ll be seeing him return to Ash, the role that really launched his career, in a cameo or otherwise, Campbell says:
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that. But the thing is we want it to be a standalone movie. You’re going to have some references [to the original] in there and there’s going to be things the fans will enjoy as far as familiar aspects, but it’s a whole new ball game.
I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know if I could – the last one was 1991. I was a virile young man; I’m 54 years old now so I’m not sure 54-year-old guys need to be doing that shit anymore. But if Sam wants to lace the boots back on and do something that makes sense, that’s fine. We may need to do the movie one day, if our careers fly off the tracks and we crash and burn, we might look at each other and go ‘Let’s make an Evil Dead movie’!”
Production on the ‘Evil Dead’, starring Jane Levy, Jessica Lucas, Shiloh Fernandez, Elizabeth Blackmore, and Lou Taylor Pucci, has wrapped and is set to debut in theaters on April 12, 2013.
