Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema are planning to give the next installment in the Evil Dead franchise, Evil Dead Burn, a theatrical release on July 10th – and with that date swiftly approaching, cast member Hunter Doohan (Wednesday) has revealed some details about his character, and the fact that there is a reference to Professor Knowby in the film! As Evil Dead fans know, Knowby was the person who brought the Book of the Dead to the cabin before the events of the original The Evil Dead.
What do we know about Evil Dead Burn?
In the build-up to the release of Evil Dead Rise (read our review right HERE) in 2023, Evil Dead franchise rights holders Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Tapert let it be known that they were already looking forward to producing more entries in the series, with Campbell revealing they were hoping to make a new sequel / spin-off every two or three years. Last year, they proved their commitment to this idea by hiring Sébastien Vaniček, who made his feature directorial debut on the French horror film Vermin, a.k.a. Infested, to write and direct a new installment in the franchise.
New Line Cinema and Sony Pictures are co-financing the film, which Vaniček is directing from a screenplay he wrote with Florent Bernard. Sony will distribute internationally, with Canal Plus distributing in the UK and Metropolitan distributing in France.
Vaniček has said that he has complete creative control on his Evil Dead movie, and has given it a French twist. Here’s the synopsis: Evil Dead Burn unleashes the franchise’s most savage and terrifying ride to date, blazing onto big screens with an all-new chapter of carnage and demonic mayhem. After the loss of her husband, a woman seeks solace with her in-laws in their secluded family home. As one by one they are transformed into Deadites—turning the gathering into a family reunion from hell—she comes to discover that the vows she took in life… live on even in death.
Sam Raimi made his feature directorial debut with the original The Evil Dead, which introduced Campbell as iconic hero Ash Williams. Ash returned for Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, and the Ash vs. Evil Dead TV series, with Raimi directing the films and the first episode of the show. After seeing a short film directed by Fede Alvarez, the Evil Dead rights holders gave him the chance to make his feature directorial debut with the Ash-less 2013 Evil Dead. Then Lee Cronin was hired to make the Ash-less Evil Dead Rise based on the strength of his own feature debut, the 2019 film The Hole in the Ground. So Sébastien Vaniček being hired to make the next Evil Dead movie right after entering the feature world with Vermin / Infested is very on brand for this franchise.
Vaniček’s Evil Dead Burn isn’t the only Evil Dead movie on the way. Two months after he was hired to make his movie, the rights holders also hired Francis Galluppi, who just made his feature directorial debut with the crime thriller The Last Stop in Yuma County, to write and direct his own Evil Dead flick, which is called Evil Dead Wrath. An animated series follow-up to Ash vs. Evil Dead is also in the works.
Who’s in the Evil Dead Burn cast?
Dune: Part Two‘s Souheila Yacoub, a Swiss former rhythmic gymnast who won the Miss Suisse Romande beauty pageant before getting her acting career started, plays heroine Alice and is joined in the cast by Luciane Buchanan (The Night Agent), Tandi Wright (Pearl), and the aforementioned Hunter Doohan.
What did Hunter Doohan say about Evil Dead Burn?
Speaking with Out, Doohan said, “My character Joseph, he’s researching the lore in the story, and so through (the) audition process, I went and watched all the movies all over again and checked out the show as well. I was running out of time — but I was all over the Wiki and learning everything I could about the Kandarian Dagger and everything I could get my hands on. Joseph is working on a book about his grandfather’s research. His grandfather knew Professor Knowby. I loved how this script not only ties back a little bit to Evil Dead Rise — but this movie connects the lore through the whole franchise, which I found really exciting. Just as a fan of horror, it’s exciting, and for it to be an Evil Dead movie. I was literally jumping up and down when I got the call. It is gnarly. It is super gruesome. And the makeup and special effects team on this movie were just unbelievable. The Deadite makeup they did was insane. I’m really hoping that it comes across as gruesome as it was on the page and how it felt when we were filming.“
Games Radar and our friends at Bloody Disgusting have previously speculated that the events of Evil Dead Burn might be directly tied to the wraparound segments of Evil Dead Rise, and the quick reference from Doohan indicates that could be correct. Either way, it’s nice to know that Knowby gets name-dropped.
Not only does Doohan have a role in Evil Dead Burn, but “I had a chance to actually visit the set of Evil Dead Wrath while they were shooting, It was cool just to go on set and just to be welcomed in, and they were like, ‘Oh, let me show you this,’ and everyone’s so excited, and they’re asking questions about Evil Dead Burn, and I was geeking out over what they were doing.” Evil Dead Wrath is scheduled to reach theatres on April 7, 2028.
What do you think of what Hunter Doohan had to say about Evil Dead Burn? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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