Evil Dead Rise was an excellent addition to the Evil Dead franchise. But after the movie premiered, many people were left asking, what’s next? Rise was the first Evil Dead movie in a decade. Many people thought this movie might resurrect the franchise and give us another Evil Dead sequel every year. While there are no reports of any films to follow this installment, fans have been theorizing, and media outlets have been asking questions about what could possibly work as a sequel to Evil Dead Rise. Its ending even has a great set-up for a sequel.
Have no fear, Evil Dead fans; the theories are spectacular, and Lee Cronin has talked about at least four ideas he has for sequels with different media outlets. Sam Raimi even hinted that he might return to the franchise one day. But for now, we’ll have to save ourselves on the ideas of other creators. Possible outcomes include what might happen after the deadites are killed, links between these different Books of the Dead, following the chainsaw as it takes a journey, returning to the woods, and a possible connection between our three Evil Dead protagonists. There are plenty of questions left over just from Evil Dead Rise, so here’s all the info we have on a sequel.
How Setting Works in an Evil Dead Sequel
When Sam Raimi handpicked Lee Cronin to direct Evil Dead Rise, Cronin knew there were certain Evil Dead tropes he had to either play on or change completely. One of them was the setting. Evil Dead is famous for establishing the trope of “the cabin in the woods” throughout the horror genre. So Cronin took his movie and set it in an apartment building in the middle of LA. It changes a few things about this deadite situation.
The first thing is that no one is isolated in the woods anymore. All the players in this demonic happening are in the middle of the city. That means it’s within the realm of possibility that one of these possessed neighbors might break out of the building and spread their evil to the rest of the city.
In fact, Beth left several neighbors alive at the end of Evil Dead Rise. She’s embroiled in this mess now, and it won’t be over that easily. And it’s on Lee Cronin’s mind. He told Variety in an interview about several possible sequels. One of them was about what happens to the apartment:
“There’s also the aftermath in this building and who encounters that. And I’ve often thought, ‘What happens when the cleanup crew shows up?’”
He also talks a lot about bringing a sequel back to the forest, specifically because there’s a possibility left for the dead to break through. It’s another point he brings up about the setting, referring specifically to how he started and finished the film:
“Because of the opening and the closing, there’s that continuation of how this evil has a gate. That brings us back into that forest context, which excites me because I love that I broke the mold, but wouldn’t it be fun now if I went back to the cabin in the woods. It could be a cool journey.”
To Cronin, it sounds like he wants another chance to pay homage to the original film and delve deeper into that lore. He clearly had an affinity for it; the chainsaw, the method of possession, the signs were everywhere.
Old Evil Dead Joining the New
Evil Dead fans have been loyal since the 80s, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change. With all the expansion happening in the Dead-iverse, there will be plenty more opportunities to delve deeper into the nature of the Necronomicon and how it might be possible to stop them. Cronin plans to explore more of the history of the Book of the Dead:
“We have history in this film and that’s presented through the vinyl. So there’s a story to be told there. It’s not by accident.”
It presents an exciting possibility for fans, who, by the way, have their own ideas for continuing the franchise. So far, we have 3 Evil Dead protagonists (or survivors might be a better term): Ash from the original series, Mia from the 2013 movie, and Beth from Rise. Theoretically, all of them are still out there, alive and on the same timeline possibly.
It’s an exciting idea for a sequel to have this conflict expand. Perhaps the deadites escape into Los Angeles, or maybe the gateway the dead are using to get to our plane expands in other locations. One thing might change and result in these heroes coming together to fight the Evil Dead. After all, they’re the only people in the world who have ever witnessed the evil and lived.
Another Shot with Video Games
Evil Dead was not the first movie franchise to dip its toes in the gaming waters, and it will be far from the last to do so. Friday the 13th had a decent stint, although copyright issues put an end to that era, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre is doing a superb job at picking up where Friday the 13th left off; in many ways, it is a far better game. Evil Dead was not as lucky and did not see the same success. Releasing in a stacked year for games did not help, but that does not change the reality of this game underperforming.
The saddest part is the game is not bad; it’s a perfectly fine shooter experience, akin to Left 4 Dead or its spiritual successor, Back 4 Blood. Even with this failure, it would be wise for Evil Dead to take another shot at gaming. Perhaps, this time, it could be in the form of a single-player experience. In a realm where gamers are craving solo experiences with rich storytelling, this could be the best bet. It could also provide for some cross-content promotional material, where elements from the games could inform the movie and vice versa, taking interconnected storytelling to the next level.
Evil Dead Rise’s Success and What That Means
The success of Rise is, of course, a positive sign for fans of the franchise. The film went on to do $146.7 million at the box office on an estimated budget between $15-$19 million. It is the highest-grossing film in the franchise. Considering it was initially only going to be a streaming release, Warner Bros. Discovery certainly made a profit off of this movie. The demand was shown, and the studios responded to money more than anything else. This means a continuation is likely right around the corner, and everyone crossing their fingers can rest a bit easier.
Critical acclaim was also through the roof for Rise; its Rotten Tomatoes critics score is 84%, and audience score is 76%. This has been attributed to it providing something for everyone; from longtime fans to newcomers, Rise did not fail to entertain the viewer with its impressive gore effects, surprisingly cheeky humor, and good-enough story. Franchises like Scream and Halloween got a second shot in the arm with successful sequels, and now Evil Dead is no different. The future looks bright for the series, and Warner Bros. might have their next big multimedia franchise.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
