Starz will make sure you have your favorite horror comedy series again, Ash vs Evil Dead, but perhaps with a new tone...
It's official! Ash vs Evil Dead season 3 will happen on Starz. Expect another season of wise-crackin' Deadite-slayin' insanity from Ashley J. Williams and friends. We don't know what we'd do without the mighty Bruce Campbell. The announcement was made at New York Comic Con. Bruce Campbell has also since teased to EW that season 3 will take an epic turn for Ash.
“I can’t say much because we’re going to try and do some crazy shit,” Campbell said. “But we’re probably going to crack more into Ash’s big picture story. He is foretold in an ancient book. He’s not just some guy in a crappy trailer home. There is a myth to Ash, there is a story, and so we want to explore a little more of that Joseph Campbell, big picture story. Why him? Why that guy? Why is he chosen to save the world?”
A bigger story about a Campbellian hero who was foretold is something that Sam Raimi has talked to us about in the past as Ash's future. It is also hinted at in Army of Darkness. Perhaps it makes sense as the first two seasons were focused on the gory delights of the earlier films that now we'll enter more of "Chosen One" Ash. Good luck with that.
...However, this will be happening without Craig DiGregorio continuing his tenure as showrunner on the series, leaving following a rather acrimonious break due to the Ash vs Evil Dead season 2 finale fallout.
Ash vs Evil Dead Season 3 Showrunner Change
Despite Craig DiGregorio steering the first two seasons of Deadite madness to mostly good cheer for the Evil Dead fans, the showrunner is bowing out of season 3. In his place, producer Mark Verheiden, who also produced Battlestar Galactica and Netflix's Daredevil, will be taking over. However, unlike most creative splits, DiGregorio has been rather frank about why he left the series, and who he fought with to the point of fracture: long-time producer of the Evil Dead films and TV series, Rob Tapert. Indeed, DiGregorio candidly opened up to The A.V. Club in December about why he dislikes the season 2 finale; while praising Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, he suggests Tapert wanted a more serious "horror" themed show while DiGregorio fought for comedy, which ultimately led to what he called a "power play" that gutted the season 2 finale for the ousted showrunner.
"He’s a great person and producer," DiGregorio said. "But creatively, we just didn’t have the same taste at all. So, that’s what led to my decision. He owns part of the property and had a lot of creative opinions, but it was my job to creatively steer the show, and so it became a hindrance."
The showrunner also revealed his original ending for season 2 would have been Ash Williams inadvertantly becoming Kelly's father since he would "[go] back in time and fuck Kelly's mom and become Kelly's dad." However, that ending was jettisoned, and DiGregorio is unsure of where Tapert and Verheiden will now steer the show, albeit he suggests the aim is to push for more horror and keep the series in Elk Grove.
Says DiGregorio, "... If the push is going to be to make the show more drama and horror, and stay in Elk Grove, then that’s what they’re setting up. Maybe Ash is the sheriff of the town, I don’t know. I try not to think about it because it’s not something I would have wanted."
Ash vs Evil Dead Season 3 Release Date
Both seasons of Ash vs Evil Dead have arrived in the fall, so expect the third season to follow suit with a 2017 premiere date just in time for the Halloween season. We'll update this with an official date as soon as we have it, but we'd bet good money that Sunday, Oct. 1 is worth clearing your calendars for.