Ash is as badass as ever in Ash vs Evil Dead...with some help.
Bruce Campbell reprises his Evil Dead and Army of Darkness role in the new Starz sequel series, whose very bloody trailer debuted at 2015 Comic-Con in San Diego on Friday and online. In the video, the 57-year-old actor is seen waving his trusty 12-gauge, double-barreled Remington shotgun, or his Boomstick, as well as his chainsaw as he fights the baddies.
He's also seen trying on a waist cincher. Hey, it's been a couple of decades...a hero's gotta do what he needs to do.
And more cracks are made about Ash's aging—let's just give him the benefit of the doubt and say he took one too many punches to the mouth. But this does not in any way diminish his badassness.
Ash vs Evil Dead is a sequel to the 1992 film Army of Darkness, the third installment in the cult horror series and the last to star Campbell. A fourth movie, a reboot he co-produced with franchise creator Sam Raimi, was released in 2013.
"Thirty years ago, my friends and I spent the night at a cabin," Ash says, referring to the events in the 1981 movie Evil Dead. "We found the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. The book of the dead. Certain passages were recited. It awoke something in the woods. Something evil. I was the only one to escape but now, the evil has found me."
One Evil Dead newcomer is none other than Lucy Lawless, 47, who starred on Starz' Spartacus series and is best known for her title role on Xena: Warrior Princess.
And to the delight of Xenites everywhere, in the Ash vs Evil Dead trailer, Lawless channels Xena (there's the Xena face!) in a sweet fight scene.
Campbell played the recurring role of "king of thieves" Autolycus on the hit fantasy-adventure series, which ended its 6-season run in 2001. He and Lawless also both starred in Raimi's 2002 film Spider-Man and reunited in a 2007 episode of Burn Notice.
The actress paid kudos to Campbell on Twitter, jokingly calling him the new James Bond. Hail to the king, baby!
The New BOND:#brucecampbell @STARZ @AshvsEvilDead #007 pic.twitter.com/idl61bBZQu
? Lucy Lawless (@RealLucyLawless) July 11, 2015"Evil Dead has always been a blast," Raimi had said in November, when the sequel series was announced. "Bruce, Rob, and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to tell the next chapter in Ash's lame, but heroic saga. With his chainsaw arm and his 'boomstick,' Ash is back to kick some monster butt. And brother, this time there's a truckload of it."
Robert G. Tapert is Lawless' husband and co-executive producer of Xena and The Evil Dead franchise.
Ash vs Evil Dead premieres on Starz on Oct. 31—Halloween. Alright. Who wants some?!