You've probably spent late nights scouring Reddit or old Fangoria archives looking for anything concrete about Army of Darkness 2. I get it. We all want more Ash Williams. But here’s the thing that most people get twisted: the movie you’re looking for actually exists, just not in the way you think it does.
Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell have been teasing us for decades. It's almost cruel. One year they’re "definitely writing it," and the next, they’re moving on to a different corner of the Deadite universe. This back-and-forth has created a massive pile of misinformation about what happened to the third installment of the original trilogy.
Wait. Let’s back up.
Technically, Army of Darkness is the third movie in the Evil Dead franchise. So, when people talk about Army of Darkness 2, they’re really asking for Evil Dead 4. It’s a branding nightmare that started because Universal Pictures owned the rights to the "Army" title, while other studios held the rights to the rest of the series. This legal mess is the primary reason your DVD shelf feels incomplete.
Why the sequel got stuck in development hell
Money talks. Or in this case, it stayed silent. When Army of Darkness hit theaters in 1993, it wasn’t exactly a box office jugrational success. It made about $21 million against an $11 million budget. By Hollywood standards, that’s "fine," but it didn't scream "give these guys more money for a bigger sequel."
The fans saved it. Home video turned Ash into a cult god. Because of that resurgence, Sam Raimi actually started developing a script for a direct follow-up in the early 2010s. Around 2013, right when the Fede Álvarez remake was dropping, rumors exploded. Raimi even told reporters at press junkets that he was working on a draft with his brother, Ivan Raimi.
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They had a wild idea.
The plan was to follow the "S-Mart" ending—the one where Ash returns to his own time and shoots a Deadite in the housewares aisle. But there was another version. Remember the "Post-Apocalyptic" ending? The one where Ash drinks too much of the potion and wakes up in a destroyed London? Raimi’s dream was to actually bridge these two timelines. He wanted a movie where both versions of Ash existed.
Then, reality hit. TV happened.
Ash vs Evil Dead changed everything
Instead of a two-hour movie that might fail at the box office, we got three seasons of Ash vs Evil Dead on Starz. This is effectively Army of Darkness 2, 3, and 4 rolled into one.
Think about it.
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The show gave us more character development for Ash than any movie ever could. We saw him deal with his father (played by the legendary Lee Majors), his hometown’s perception of him as "Ashy Slashy," and eventually, his role as a father. It satisfied the itch for boomsticks and chainsaws. However, it also complicated the chances of a theatrical sequel.
Bruce Campbell officially retired from playing Ash in live-action after the show was canceled in 2018. He’s 67 now. He’s been very vocal about the physical toll the role takes. Getting covered in "blood" (which is basically flavored corn syrup) for 14 hours a day isn't fun when your joints hurt.
- Bruce has stated he will still voice Ash in video games and animation.
- The Evil Dead Rise (2023) film moved the story to an apartment building in LA, proving the franchise can survive without Ash.
- There are currently two new Evil Dead projects in development from directors Sébastien Vaniček and Francis Galluppi.
The legal nightmare of the Necronomicon
You might wonder why Ash vs Evil Dead barely mentioned the events of Army of Darkness in the first season. It felt weird, right? That’s because of the rights issue I mentioned earlier. Starz and Lionsgate had to navigate a minefield to even reference the medieval stuff.
This is why a direct Army of Darkness 2 is so hard to produce. You have Renaissance Pictures (Raimi’s company), Universal, and now various other stakeholders who all own pieces of the pie. It’s a logistical headache that usually scares off big-budget investors.
But don't lose hope entirely.
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The "Multiverse" is a big deal in cinema right now. Raimi just directed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He knows how to juggle different realities. There has been persistent talk about an animated series that would continue Ash’s story right where the Starz show left off—in that dusty, Mad Max-style future.
Animation solves the "Bruce is getting older" problem. It also bypasses the massive costs of practical effects and allows for the scale that a true Army of Darkness sequel deserves. Imagine an army of thousands of Deadites, not just guys in rubber suits, but fully realized animated nightmares.
What's actually happening right now?
As of 2026, the focus of the franchise is on "The Book." The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis is the star now. Sam Raimi is producing new stories that explore how other people deal with the book.
Evil Dead Rise was a massive hit. It proved that the "vibe" of the series—the gore, the dark humor, the relentless pacing—works with a new cast. This success actually makes a return to the Ash storyline less likely in the short term, because the studio sees more value in low-budget, high-return spinoffs.
Honest truth? If we ever see a movie called Army of Darkness 2, it’ll likely be a legacy sequel where Ash passes the torch. Or, more likely, we get the animated revival Bruce has been hinting at in interviews.
Actionable Steps for the Die-Hard Fan
Since a theatrical release isn't hitting IMAX tomorrow, here is how you actually consume the "lost" sequels that already exist:
- Watch the alternate ending of Army of Darkness: If you’ve only seen the S-Mart ending, go find the "Director’s Cut" with the apocalypse ending. It completely changes the trajectory of the character and serves as a "What If?" for the sequel that never was.
- Read the Dynamite Comics: This is where the real Army of Darkness 2 lives. There are crossovers with Xena, Marvel Zombies, and even Freddy vs. Jason. The comics ignored the budget constraints of film and went wild with the lore.
- Play Evil Dead: The Game: Bruce Campbell and the original cast returned to voice their characters here. It’s the closest thing to a "reunion" we’ve had, featuring characters from every single movie and the TV show.
- Track the New Directors: Keep an eye on Sébastien Vaniček. His work on the film Infested showed he can handle claustrophobic horror. While his upcoming Evil Dead film isn't a direct Ash sequel, it's the current path of the franchise.
The dream of Ash Williams leading a medieval army again might be stuck in a temporal rift, but the franchise is more alive than it’s been in thirty years. We traded one specific sequel for a whole universe of Deadite chaos. Honestly? That's not a bad deal.