Evil Dead is an American comedy horror franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of five feature films and a television series.

The series follows various characters as they battle demonic forces unleashed by an ancient book called the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis.

The franchise has since expanded into other formats, including a television series, video games, comic books and a musical.

The film franchise was resurrected in 2013 with Evil Dead, both a reboot and a loose continuation of the series directed by Fede Álvarez, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues.

Evil Dead, premiered on cable network Starz in 2015, lasted for three seasons, and ended in 2018, with Campbell announcing an animated revival to be in active development in July 2022.

[2][3] A fifth film in the franchise, titled Evil Dead Rise, was theatrically released on April 21, 2023, with Lee Cronin serving as writer and director, Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan starring as sisters Ellie and Beth Bixler, Tapert serving as a producer, and Raimi and Campbell both acting as executive producers.

[4][5][6][7] Each film of the franchise has received generally positive reviews from critics, with the original trilogy developing a cult following, and has grossed a collective $300 million worldwide.

The film is considered a continuation of the franchise, and plans to feature both Ash and Mia in future installments have been discussed.

Officially titled Evil Dead Rise, the project was announced to be developed by New Line Cinema and released on HBO Max.

[4][6][9] In May 2021, Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan had been cast in the film,[6] followed by Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, and Nell Fisher in June,[10] and Mia Challis in July.

[15] Later that month, Campbell stated that after positive experiences as a producer on Evil Dead Rise, he would consider reprising his lead role in a future film if Raimi were to return as director, reversing his previous "retirement" from the role following the cancellation of Ash vs Evil Dead.

[17] That same month, Campbell announced that Sam and Ivan Raimi were co-writing a bible to outline the future of the franchise; stating that films that follow will adhere to the overall outline, with current plans including releasing a new film in the franchise "every couple" years, as opposed to the most recent activity of once every decade.

[23] The series stars Bruce Campbell reprising his role as an older Ash Williams with a supporting cast that includes Dana DeLorenzo, Ray Santiago, Lucy Lawless and Jill Marie Jones.

Sam Raimi was studying literature at Michigan State University with Robert Tapert, who was finishing his economics degree.

From these rough concepts, he concocted a short story where a group of four friends unwittingly dig up an Indian burial ground and unleash horrific spirits and demons.

In order to organize the budget, Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell bought a few "how to make an independent film" guide publications.

[33] Since they had little experience in the film industry, the three felt they should buy business suits and briefcases as a means to convince investors that they "had all the answers."

A man named Andy Grainger, who was a friend of Tapert and owner of a series of movie theaters, was the first primary investor.

He also appears as a playable character in the asymmetrical horror game Dead by Daylight and as an outfit in Fortnite Battle Royale.

In 2008, Dark Horse revisited the franchise with a four issue adaptation of The Evil Dead written by Mark Verheiden and once again illustrated by John Bolton.

Later that year, Dynamite separated itself from Devil's Due and began focusing entirely on self-published titles featuring the Army of Darkness franchise.

Over the years, there have also been several one-shot specials as well as crossovers with a wide variety of characters such as, Marvel Zombies, Darkman, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Xena, Danger Girl and even Barack Obama.

The production team of George Reinblatt, Christopher Bond and Frank Cipolla created an Off Broadway show titled Evil Dead: The Musical, based on the film series.

Tying in with the midnight movie plot of a group of friends visiting a wooded cabin and unleashing untold evil, performances did not start until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

It was announced on January 31, 2007, that Evil Dead: The Musical's New York production at New World Stages would close on February 17, 2007.

The new production started its running May 1, 2007, and has been announced to end on September 8, 2007, which won the Dora Audience Choice Award and praised by the Toronto Star.

The 2012 Swedish language film Wither serves as an unofficial remake of The Evil Dead, starring Patrik Almkvist as Albin Wiliams (Ash Williams)[83] In 2020, Steve Villenevue premiered the documentary Hail to the Deadites, which focuses on the franchise's fandom and legacy.

[85] The Evil Dead films and the character of Ash influenced 1990s first-person shooter video games such as Doom, Duke Nukem 3D and Blood.

[89] It does not continue the story of Army of Darkness but is a fictionalized portrayal of Bruce living his everyday life, in which he is erroneously believed to be as heroic as the Ash character and is hired to fight an ancient spirit.