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].”
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“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.
