Not groovy.
With the second season of Ash vs Evil Dead currently airing on Starz, and receiving critical acclaim, Bruce Campbell’s iconic character Ashley “Ash” J. Williams is once again in eye of popular culture.
At one point, Ash starred in the crossover comic miniseries Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, a sequel to the 2003 film Freddy vs. Jason and The Evil Dead film trilogy. As the title suggests, the series sees these horror movie icons duking it out with over-the-top violence and one-liners.
The comic was a big hit with fans, and led to many demanding a film adaptation of series. Unfortunately, we never got that movie, and recently, Ash himself explained why.
In a Reddit AMA session with Bruce Campbell, the actor was asked why the crossover never happened, and why we never got any other crossovers with the character.
Here’s Campbell’s response:
“I’ll be honest with you. I’m not real interested in crossovers. One of the main reasons why ‘Ash vs. Jason vs. Freddy’ did not come to pass is because we couldn’t control any other character other than Ash. That felt like a creatively bankrupt way to go. Not to mention, you’re splitting the proceeds three ways with partners you might not want.”
While a bummer for sure, we understand why the crossover didn’t happen, and why Campbell doesn’t want it to. First, crossovers in comics are one thing, but movie crossovers are another. Characters from different film franchises like Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elmstreet are owned by different film distributors, so lots of crazy deals and conversations need to happen first. Look no further than Spider-Man’s long journey to the MCU.
If these deals are actually made, compromises happen, and characters may not benefit from the creative control they would have if they remained in their original franchise. We’re sure Campbell is very happy with his show (we certainly are), so why potentially ruin a good thing.
Ash vs Evil Dead season two is airing now on Starz.
