The Evil Dead franchise is gearing up for another blood-soaked chapter, and the cast coming together for it is looking pretty cool. A new report confirms that a strong ensemble has signed on for the next film in the long-running horror series, which will be written and directed by Francis Galluppi.
Leading the cast are Charlotte Hope, Jessica McNamee, and Zach Gilford. They’re joined by Josh Helman, Ella Newton, Elizabeth Cullen, and Australian newcomer Ella Oliphant.
Hope is best known to horror fans for The Nun, while McNamee made a brutal impression in Mortal Kombat. Gilford left a lasting mark on genre TV with Friday Night Lights and Midnight Mass, and Helman previously tore through the wasteland in Mad Max: Fury Road.
This movie will be the seventh entry in the franchise and is separate from Evil Dead Burn, which is currently on the way. The new project doesn’t have a title yet, and story details are being kept tightly under wraps.
All that’s known is that Galluppi, coming off the critical success of The Last Stop in Yuma County, is steering the ship this time.
When talking about the project, he previously said: “All I can really say is how much of a fan I am of Evil Dead and how much I really care about this franchise. It truly is one of the movies that made me want to make movies. I’m not just saying that.”
He continued: “I grew up watching Back to the Future and Indiana Jones and these huge spectacles and spent most of my life playing music because film, making movies seems so unattainable, and there’s something about the original Evil Dead that you could just tell that [director] Sam [Raimi] and Bruce [Campbell] were out there having so much fun making the thing they wanted to make.”
“And it was so innovative”, he added, “and that’s really the thing that inspired me to go pick up a camera and get my friends together and go out and make a horror short.
“My office is covered in Evil Dead stuff, so I have, it’s just very exciting. I’m really excited. Everyone at Ghost House is just really, they’re just great to work with.”
He went on to talk about which of the Evil Dead films might influence his own spinoff, saying: “I like them all. I’m dead serious. I think that it’s a perfect … they have not f-cked up any of the movies. They’re all great, and I love them all for my own reasons.”
He then pointed out Army of Darkness, saying: “Obviously, Army of Darkness came out in a time, a perfect age for me, so I watched that a lot growing up, and Evil Dead had a huge impact on me when I was 18. And I love Fede [Álvarez’s]. I love Lee [Cronin’s]. They’re all great.”
He added: “I really can’t tell you if … I feel like I always go back to the original Evil Dead. It’s just a comfort movie for me. But with that said, I watch them all. Even the show. The show is great.”
When it comes to the Ash vs. Evil Dead series, Galluppi said: “When that show was on, it was like, that was the one show where we always had a f-cking weekly party at my house, and everyone came over and we got pizza, and we all were watching the new episode of Ash vs. Evil Dead, and I miss it.”
The film is being produced by Evil Dead creator Sam Raimi alongside franchise producer Rob Tapert. Executive producers include Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin.
New Line Cinema will handle domestic release through Warner Bros. Pictures, with Sony Pictures releasing internationally.
Meanwhile, fans won’t have to wait too long for more Deadite mayhem. Sébastien Vaniček’s Evil Dead Burn is set to hit theaters on July 24.
