While Starz seemed to be willing to keep ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead‘ going and there were even talks of a feature film that would be produced, the network took a boomstick to the series halfway through the third season and killing off any chance of a continuation. When this happened, Bruce Campbell made the decision that once filming was over, he would be retiring from playing Ash Williams for good which stopped the idea of a new movie cold.
With all of that in mind, it was a very emotional time when the final episodes were being shot as Campbell thought it would be the last time he was voicing the character.
“No question about it. Actors love to say that they knew it. I sensed it, not that I knew it, but I sensed it, so we made sure to wrap it up in case it did get canceled. We came up with an ending that would suffice in case it didn’t get picked up because we knew the ratings were not stellar. We knew that there was that chance. So, as a result, I found it incredibly emotional. I had trouble getting through a couple scenes with my daughter.”
You have to keep in mind that these scenes were shot before the series being officially canceled. ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ has a ton of post-production needed for special effects so while they may have suspected the end was coming, they didn’t know for sure at the time of filming.
These thoughts also had him do one little thing on his last day on set:
“Well, I walked off set last day of shooting, and I grabbed my assistant. I went, ‘Get a camera. I’m going to stand right here in front of this real fireplace, and I think this might be the last picture of Ash, so let’s take it.’ So, that’s what I posted with my little retirement statement.”
The image he shared can be seen right here:
Ash Vs Evil Dead has been the ride of a lifetime. Ash Williams was the role of a lifetime.
I will always be grateful to Starz, Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and our tireless fans for the opportunity to revisit the franchise that launched our careers. Thank you! 😎 pic.twitter.com/oNmTopS1Ab
— Bruce Campbell (@GroovyBruce) April 20, 2018
With all that in mind, we did learn recently that Campbell will be reprising the role that made him famous at least one more time. Only, it’ll be for an ‘Evil Dead’ game which he was contractually required to do.
Can you imagine the ‘Evil Dead’ universe continuing without Ashley Williams? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Comic Book