Television

Bruce Campbell Says He's Retired As Ash, And Now We're Sad

Bruce Campbell Retiring As Ash
By Chris Evangelista

Bruce Campbell is hanging up his chainsaw for good. According to the actor, he's retiring from playing Ash vs Evil Dead's Ash Williams – a character he's played on and off again for almost 40 years.

When word broke recently that Starz was cancelling Ash vs Evil Dead, fans were understandably crestfallen, but still somewhat hopeful. In the past, star Bruce Campbell had said that if Ash vs Evil Dead were to be cancelled, there might always be a possibility for another Evil Dead film. "We're going to see what the TV gods have in store for us," Campbell originally said. "We're ready either way. If they take us off the air, we can think about another movie. And if they don't, we can just keep plugging away."

Alas, Campbell has now taken a boomstick to any hope of a new Evil Dead film. After fans launched an online petition hoping to get Netflix to save Ash vs Evil Dead, the actor responded and announced that he was officially "retired as Ash."

This is understandably upsetting to anyone who was holding onto hope that Ash would live to fight another day, but I'd say Campbell has earned the right to call it quits. He's lived with Ash for a large part of his career, and in many ways, the part will always define him. But if he wants to move on and try other things, we should all respect that and wish him well.

While Campbell had hinted at another Evil Dead movie in the past, he also seemed to indicate that his days of playing Ash were pretty much over and done with after Starz cancelled Ash vs Evil Dead.

"Ash has left the building" and "Ash Williams was the role of a lifetime" (emphasis on was) both indicate we've seen the last of new Ash adventures in any sort of form.

And that's okay. We'll always have the first three Evil Dead films – Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness. And we have three full seasons of Ash vs Evil Dead as well. That a hell of a lot of Ash adventures to hold onto. Sure, it's sad that there will (probably) be no more new Ash/Evil Dead adventures, but the Evil Dead legacy will live on.

"I know where these movies stand," Campbell previously said in regards to the lasting effect of the Evil Dead franchise. "They're not Star Wars. They were never designed to be an 18-part trilogy with a grand story. This was a lucky little movie that did okay. Our second movie bombed, so we went, 'Well, then let's make a sequel to the first one.' We all kept calling back to the Evil Dead movies to save us, over the years, so I'll always be eternally grateful. It got me into the business."

The Ash vs Evil Dead series finale airs April 29, 2018 on Starz.

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