Evil Dead Rise

''Evil Dead Rise'' is an upcoming American supernatural horror film written and directed by Lee Cronin. The fifth installment in the ''Evil Dead'' film series, the film stars Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland as two estranged sisters trying to survive and save their family from demonic creatures, with Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, and Nell Fisher in supporting roles.

The film's development was preceded by scrapped plans for sequels to ''Evil Dead'' (2013) and ''Army of Darkness'' (1992), and a fourth season of ''Ash vs Evil Dead'' (2015–2018). By October 2019, Sam Raimi announced that a new film was in development, with Rob Tapert producing, Raimi and Bruce Campbell executive producing, and Cronin writing and directing the project. New Line Cinema (the first film's distributor) was announced as a production company involved. Principal photography began in New Zealand on June 6, 2021, and wrapped on October 27, 2021.

Originally intended for a digital release on HBO Max, ''Evil Dead Rise'' is set to have its world premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) in March 2023, before its released theatrically on April 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Premise

Cast

* Lily Sullivan as Beth
* Alyssa Sutherland as Ellie
* Morgan Davies as Danny
* Gabrielle Echols as Bridget
* Nell Fisher as Kassie
* Mia Challis as Jessica
* Tai Wano as Scott
* Jayden Daniels as Gabriel
* Billy Reynolds-McCarthy as Jake

Production

Development

At the South by Southwest premiere, Fede Álvarez announced that his film ''Evil Dead'' (2013), a remake of ''The Evil Dead'' (1981), would be getting a sequel. In addition, Sam Raimi confirmed plans to write ''Evil Dead 4'' with his brother Ivan Raimi; it was later specified that the film would be a sequel to ''Army of Darkness'' (1992). At a WonderCon panel in March 2013, Bruce Campbell and Álvarez stated that their ultimate plan was for Álvarez's ''Evil Dead 2'' and Raimi's ''Army of Darkness 2'' to be followed by a seventh film which would merge the narratives of Ash Williams and Mia Allen. On October 30, 2013, co-writer Rodo Sayagues confirmed to ''DesdeHollywood'' that he and Álvarez would not return for the sequel. That same month, Álvarez took to his Twitter that the rumor was not true. Campbell confirmed that he would reprise his role as Ash in ''Army of Darkness 2''. Raimi was later confirmed to serve as director on ''Army of Darkness 2''. By November, Campbell expressed doubts in a fourth ''Evil Dead'' movie. In September 2017, during a panel at Fan Expo Canada'' on Starz as an example.

In November 2018, Álvarez announced that "They're just ideas right now. Nothing to announce officially. We do have a script for ''Don't Breathe 2''. That's the only difference. We don't have a script for ''Evil Dead 2''. But we do have a script for ''Don't Breathe 2'' that we wrote." He also said that "When I tweeted that I was interested in seeing what people prefer. We were having some internal debates about what people would be interested in most. Unfortunately, ''Evil Dead 2'' won. Which, I guess I would have preferred ''Don't Breathe 2'' to win because it's one of my own creations. Obviously ''Evil Dead'' has the bigger following." On July 10, 2019, Raimi discussed the future of the ''Evil Dead'' franchise, saying that "We'd like to make another ''Evil Dead'' feature and in fact we're working on some ideas right now." Raimi said that he would be interested in making another film with Campbell, however, Campbell earlier claimed that he has retired from the role of Ash. He said another option would be a sequel to the 2013 reboot, however, he is unsure if Álvarez would want to make a sequel at this point because the director is a successful "artist in demand" now.

Pre-production

In October 2019, Raimi announced at New York Comic Con that a new film was in development. Robert G. Tapert was set to produce, while Raimi and Campbell served as executive producers only, all under their Ghost House Pictures banner. In June 2020, Campbell revealed that Lee Cronin was handpicked by Raimi to write and direct the film, then titled ''Evil Dead Now''. In May 2021, New Line Cinema (who distributed the first film) had picked up the film, with it scheduled to be released on HBO Max and retitled ''Evil Dead Rise''.

Casting

In May 2021, it was revealed that Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan had been cast in the lead roles. In June 2021, Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, and Nell Fisher were added to the cast. In July 2021, Mia Challis joined the cast.

Filming

Principal photography began in New Zealand on June 6, 2021, with Dave Garbett serving as cinematographer. Garbett previously served as a cinematographer on several episodes of ''Ash vs Evil Dead''. On July 14, 2021, Cronin revealed that filming was officially half way done. Filming officially concluded on October 27, 2021, with Cronin revealing the film used over 6,500 liters of fake blood.

Post-production

In April 2022, Stephen McKeon was announced to be composing the score, after collaborating with Cronin on '' The Hole in the Ground'' (2019). Bryan Shaw served as editor on the film, who previously edited 2013's ''Evil Dead''.

Release

''Evil Dead Rise'' is set to have its world premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW), which is set to run from March 10–19, 2023, before its released theatrically on April 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures. In the United Kingdom, the film is set to be co-distributed by StudioCanal UK.

The film was originally set for a streaming-only release on HBO Max, but was moved to a theatrical release in August 2022 as part of a restructuring plan for film distribution at Warner Bros. that would see the studio relying less on HBO Max-only releases and more on theatrical releases.

Notes

References

External links

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{{Portal bar, United States, Film, Speculative fiction, Horror

Upcoming films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
2023 films
2023 horror films
American horror thriller films
American splatter films
American supernatural horror films
Dark fantasy films
Demons in film
The Evil Dead (franchise) films
Films about spirit possession
Films set in apartment buildings
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in New Zealand
Ghost House Pictures films
Warner Bros. films
Works by Lee Cronin