Bruce Campbell Retires: How Ash Williams Story Ended In 'Evil Dead'
The Evil Dead (1981) changed horror forever and introduced us to the iconic hero Ash Williams. While he wouldn't become the gun-toting cool guy until Evil Dead II (1987), Ash Williams was still a person who was easy to root for even as he got older.
In a recent Collider interview with Bruce Campbell, we now know his time as the Deadite killer is over. Campbell, who has been dealing with a recent cancer diagnosis, stated that he has decided to retire Ash Williams in any capacity and will be much more particular about future roles. But how did Ash's story end, and does it make sense for him?
What Happened To Ash Williams In 'The Evil Dead' Franchise
Ash vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018) saw an older Ash Williams living his life after returning to his time at the end of Army of Darkness (1992). But after recklessly reading from the Necronomicon, he awakened the Evil and embarked on a cross-country adventure with friends to stop it.
For three seasons, he pushed back chaos and traveled through time before facing Kandar the Destroyer in a final battle to test the mettle of man and save his world. Barely surviving, a Knight of Sumeria took him and healed him until he awakened decades in the future.
With a cybernetic hand and a retrofitted Oldsmobile, with armor and a jet engine, Ash rode off with a new ally, an android named Lexx, to once again try to stop the Evil. But this time, he was as bad off as when he was in the past, facing a world that he wasn't familiar with and unsure if those he cared about survived, like his friends and daughter.
Ash's Ending Nodded To 'Army Of Darkness' Original Ending
When Army of Darkness hit theaters, it was famous for its ending, in which Ash, who was put to sleep with a potion, returned to the present and saved a woman from a Deadite in S-Mart. It's a heroic ending that made you want more, and that was exactly the plan because the original ending was far more depressing.
The initial cut of Army of Darkness saw Ash take too much of his sleeping potion and awaken in an apocalyptic future with long hair and a beard, lamenting that he "slept too long." It was a bleak ending, not unlike his past ones, and it didn't get the response creators had hoped for.
Ash vs. Evil Dead revisited the original ending idea and found a healthy compromise. Ash slept longer than he thought and awoke in the future. But rather than be depressed about it, he faced it with his head held high and a hope that those he knew were still out there for him to find. We got our apocalyptic ending, but with the version of Ash who was more prepared for it, and it made for a great sendoff for the hero.
What Does Bruce Campbell's Retirement Mean For 'Evil Dead'?
Ash's conclusion, being the ultimate finale for Bruce Campbell and possibly for the character, is fitting for the man he ultimately became. Ash never really had a peaceful life the minute the Necronomicon was awakened in the '80s. He had moments of reprieve that were balanced with a healthy dose of paranoia, and it led to the book returning stronger than ever.
Seeing Ash embrace that his life would always be chaos reminds us that sometimes we can't stop the bad things that happen to us, and it's often better to face it with a smile than to cry or cower from it. But while Ash got his perfect ending, Evil Dead, as a franchise, has its own monsters to face.
Evil Dead Burn (2026) is now considered one of the more serious entries in the series and has fans missing the humor that came with Ash's story. The slapstick energy of his films defined how malicious the Deadites were and how both sides could have fun with the Hell they faced. With Campbell no longer in the franchise, that doesn't mean the series should lose its laughter.
Instead, this is a chance to get back to basics with a new face, as there have been so many introduced as-is, and they can be the ones to shift the horror back into a better balance with the humor. This would make the Evil Dead more than just another possession series after Ash Williams rode off into the sunset.
