Gosh, I feel like there were weeks after Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead was released where everyone and their mother started speculating on the next franchise entry. One minute Alvarez was involved in a sequel, the next minute he wasn’t, then Sam Raimi chimed in and revealed we’d be getting an Army Of Darkness 2 – it was all rather overwhelming. Now that the dust has settled and Alvarez finally confirmed his next project as Dante’s Peak, we know Raimi will be continuing his own Evil Dead franchise with Army Of Darkness 2, but Fede Alvarez has resurfaced to let fans know his Evil Dead 2 hasn’t been nixed – he’s just waiting for the right time.
Talking to Shock Till You Drop about an episode of From Dusk Till Dawn he directed, the director offered the following update on Evil Dead 2:
“Sam, Bruce and Rob Tapert and I are good friends and we talk to one another often and we’re always coming up with new ideas and projects,” he said. “Sam is teasing Army of Darkness 2, which he is working on the script with his brother, but at the same time Evil Dead 2 is something we definitely want to do at some point. But part of the reason I think the last one was successful is because Sam took his time to find the right team of people to do it. We took the time to find the right script and all of that. If you had Evil Dead 2 coming out the following year, it’s just for the market, not because you’ve found the right idea. It takes time to find the right idea and that’s what we’re doing. It’s always in the background and always in our heads. And every time I talk with Sam, we’re bouncing around ideas to find what would be the perfect sequel.”
In the logical order of things, this all makes sense. We know there still might be a chance that Mia (Jane Levy) and Ash (Bruce Campbell) join forces/face off somewhere down the line, mixing Raimi and Alvarez’s worlds, but Ash needs to be re-established before that happens. It’s been a while since Campbell brandished his iconic boomstick, and that’s exactly what the Raimi brothers are working hard to fix.
What does it all mean? Amidst all the commotion, people haven’t forgotten about Alvarez’s Evil Dead 2, and while we’re still a few years away from actually getting there, it eventually WILL happen. You know, just some generic news so we don’t forget about what’s coming!
Patience is indeed a virtue, and it looks like Alvarez is going to test just how “virtuous” his fans are.