WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Evil Dead Rise!Evil Dead Rise sets up the potential for a massive franchise crossover, which could unite seven key Evil Dead survivors in a sequel. Evil Dead Rise is a standalone sequel following guitar technician Beth as she faces Deadites while visiting her sister Ellie and her kids. Still, Lee Cronin’s 2023 movie is connected to the four previous Evil Dead movies and three-season TV show through the demon-releasing Necronomicon. Army of Darkness confirmed that three volumes of the Book of the Dead exist, with Evil Dead Rise’s 1923 vinyl recording reiterating this universe-connecting fact. The first volume is the focus of Ash Williams’ Evil Dead movies and series, the second volume is central to Mia Allen’s movie, and the third volume finally comes into play with Beth’s story.
Now that all three volumes of Evil Dead’s Naturom Demonto have been explored, the franchise’s future can finally unite each major survivor who battled the three books and numerous Deadites. While Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to confirm whether Evil Dead Rise 2 will happen, the 2023 sequel has recorded the best box office run of the franchise and debuted to stellar reviews, indicating more installments are in store. Should Evil Dead’s future look to capitalize on a franchise-long crossover, a sequel could bring together seven survivors from the movies and TV show to finally figure out how to destroy the three books, as led by Evil Dead’s Ash Williams, Mia Allen, and Beth.
7 Beth
Lily Sullivan’s Beth becomes the franchise’s newest hero as she battles numerous Deadites, saves her niece Kassie, and wields a chainsaw to destroy the Marauder and shred it through a wood chipper. Beth survives the demon attack in the Los Angeles apartment building of her sister Ellie, who becomes the primary Deadite vessel in Lee Cronin’s film. After confronting her fears of parenthood through the Deadite massacre, Beth ends Evil Dead Rise by deciding to be a mother to her unborn child and the guardian of Kassie, with the characters’ futures being left open.
It’s unclear where Beth and Kassie are heading after Evil Dead Rise’s ending, but considering Sullivan’s character grabs the chainsaw as she leaves the parking garage, it’s safe to assume she anticipates battling more of the evil dead. Evil Dead Rise’s final scene also reveals that after Beth destroyed the Marauder consisting of Ellie, Danny, and Bridget, the building’s resident Jessica was possessed by the demon, who then attacked her cousin and boyfriend at a cabin. The demon’s mission to create terror through chaos isn’t complete after Evil Dead Rise, meaning Beth is apt to make use of her boomstick and chainsaw again in a sequel.
6 Kassie
Surprisingly, Evil Dead Rise concluded with the survival of two main characters, as Beth’s youngest niece Kassie (Nell Fisher) lived through the Deadite attack, though her mother and two siblings weren’t so fortunate. Although Kassie survived after her Aunt Beth wielded the chainsaw and cut up Evil Dead Rise’s Marauder monster, the young Deadite fighter also came prepared with her own weapon of choice: Staffanie. While Beth arms herself with her boomstick and chainsaw, Kassie will likely have to replace the original Staffanie as her personal weapon in an Evil Dead Rise sequel. If Evil Dead Rise 2 introduces a crossover movie, then Kassie will be the youngest survivor returning for a Deadite battle.
5 Ash Williams
The Evil Dead franchise is synonymous with Bruce Campbell’s staple character Ash Williams, who starred in the original Sam Raimi trilogy and the TV show Ash vs. Evil Dead. Campbell then made a post-credits scene cameo as Ash in the 2013 Evil Dead remake, which simply saw him utter his catchphrase “Groovy.” While he doesn’t appear on-screen, Bruce Campbell has an Evil Dead Rise voice cameo as a priest on the vinyl recording from 1923, though director Lee Cronin teased that this unnamed character could still be Ash Williams. Despite the fact that Campbell announced his intentions to retire Ash Williams after Ash vs. Evil Dead, it’s still possible for the actor to reprise the iconic chainsaw-handed character in all his grooviness for a crossover sequel.
4 Mia Allen
The first lead character in the Evil Dead franchise other than Ash Williams was Mia Allen, who survived the Deadite cabin massacre in the 2013 Evil Dead remake/sequel. Following a similar format to the original Evil Dead movie, Evil Dead (2013) saw Mia arrive at the cabin and quickly become possessed and killed by the demon, resurrected by her brother, and cloned as The Abomination monster, which she destroyed in a final stand at the cabin. While she lost a hand, Mia survived Evil Dead (2013) armed with a red chainsaw after the deaths of her friends, with her future also being left unclear.
Following the success of Evil Dead (2013), there were talks of a crossover between Mia Allen and Ash Williams, but this project never came to fruition. Although Mia isn’t directly connected to Evil Dead Rise, her story is still related to the overall tale due to her past with the second Book of the Dead. Since Mia is presumably still alive during Evil Dead Rise’s timeline, Jane Levy’s character could restart her chainsaw and finally unite with Ash and Beth to destroy the three volumes of the Necronomicon for good.
3 Pablo Bolivar
While he may not have been alive throughout the entire series, Ray Santiago’s character Pablo Bolivar did survive Ash vs. Evil Dead’s season 3 finale. At the end of Ash vs. Evil Dead, Pablo escaped the battle with the demon when evacuated by the military, though his life after this event is unclear given the series ended with Ash awakening in a futuristic post-apocalypse bunker. Pablo is most likely still alive during Evil Dead Rise’s timeline, and since he possesses the power of El Brujo Especiale, he would certainly come in handy for Beth’s Deadite fight in a franchise crossover.
2 Kelly Maxwell
Alongside Pablo, Dana DeLorenzo’s Kelly Maxwell was one of Ash Williams’ Deadite battling companions throughout Ash vs. Evil Dead. Although Kelly died earlier in the third season, she was brought back to life in Ash vs. Evil Dead’s series finale, seemingly surviving the climactic demon standoff. Since Kelly was able to escape with Pablo, it seems the two characters would return together in a potential Evil Dead crossover movie.
1 Brandy Barr
Another Evil Dead franchise survivor who could return in an Evil Dead Rise sequel is Brandy Barr (Arielle Carver-O’Neill), the long-lost daughter of Ash Williams. Brandy was introduced in Ash vs. Evil Dead season 3 and was taken in by Ash after her mother’s death, with Brandy then joining her father on the series’ final battle with the Kandarian demon. At the time that Ash intended to sacrifice himself in Ash vs. Evil Dead’s series finale, Brandy survived by fleeing the area alongside Kelly and Pablo, suggesting she could still be with the characters during Evil Dead Rise’s timeline. Now that Brandy is a seasoned Deadite killer, she could join her father, Beth, Kassie, Mia, Pablo, and Kelly in a massive crossover sequel after Evil Dead Rise.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
