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Guess Who’s Appearing in “Ash vs Evil Dead”?!
Exec producer Rob Tapert and star Bruce Campbell confirmed that the character of Cheryl Williams, Ash’s sister from the original The Evil Dead, will appear in the upcoming season of Starz’s “Ash vs Evil Dead”, IGN reports.
Here’s the kicker: Ellen Sandweiss, who portrayed Cheryl in the 1981 film, will return to guest star as the character.
“Ash’s sister makes a tiny little guest appearance, causes a little commotion,” Tapert said.
Campbell explains why Cheryl, who turned into a demon and then was killed by her brother in the original film, is coming back. Basically, it’s fan service. “Well, it’s all street cred,” Campbell said of the decision to tie the TV series in so deeply with the films. “It’s like fried pork rinds to the fans. Like, ‘Ah, that’s Cheryl! Shit! She’s back!’ I think it’ll freak them out, and that’s the idea… it’s gonna look really accurate [to the original film].”
[Related] Evil Dead 4 Could Still Happen; “Ash vs Evil Dead” to Reference Army of Darkness
“Ash vs. Evil Dead,” a 10-episode half-hour series, is the long-awaited follow-up to the classic horror film, The Evil Dead.
The second season roars back into action in October 2016 with Ash leaving his beloved Jacksonville and returning to his hometown of Elk Grove, Michigan. There, he confronts Ruby. The former enemies have to form an uneasy alliance as Elk Grove soon becomes the nucleus of evil.
The cast is led by Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, “Burn Notice”) in the role of Ash Williams; Lucy Lawless (“Salem,” “Spartacus”) as Ruby Knowby, who now possesses the powerful Necronomicon; Ray Santiago (“Touch,” Meet the Fockers) as Pablo Simon Bolivar, Ash’s loyal sidekick dealing with the trauma he suffered in the cabin; and Dana DeLorenzo (A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas) as Kelly Maxwell, who, grief-stricken after the death of her parents, plots revenge against The Evil Dead. Lee Majors (Do You Believe), Ted Raimi (“Xena: Warrior Princess,” Spider-Man), and Michelle Hurd (“Law & Order: SVU”) join the series this year as Brock Williams, Ash’s father; Chet Kaminski, Ash’s childhood best friend; and Linda, Ash’s high school love, respectively.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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