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“Ash vs Evil Dead”: Why Doesn’t Ash Work At S-Mart?
One of the first ever images from “Ash vs Evil Dead,” the upcoming Starz series based on Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead franchise, revealed Bruce Campbell as Ash, alongside Pablo (Ray Santiago) and Kelly (Dana Delorenzo).
What was weird about the image was that it was pegged as a look at Ash with his two fellow Value Stop employees.
“Value Stop? What about S-Mart?” we collectively asked.
S-Mart was one of the most memorable locations in the Evil Dead franchise as it was the starting and ending point to Army of Darkness, where Ash gets his trusty “boomstick” and other handy tools.
During an interview we had with Raimi back in July, he explains the name change to Bloody Disgusting.
“Because of some licensing issues we no longer have the rights to use the name ‘S-Mart,’ and the same goes along for anything that came out of ‘Army of Darkness’,” Sam told us. “I’m not sure exactly who owns the rights, but we’ve made sure… even gone out of our way… to make sure that will not inhibit the fans’ enjoyment of the show.”
As many of you may recall, there was some insane legal issues when an Army of Darkness sequel was announced without Raimi’s involvement. There’s been no clarity on what’s actually going on, but it sounds as if that part of the Ash universe will be completely ignored.
In fact, when we talked to producer Robert Tapert back in April, he eluded to this…
“’Army of Darkness’ doesn’t exist,” says Tapert before clarifying a bit. “Well, certainly Ash went through a bad experience, but we’re not really referencing it [on the show], specifics from that, but he certainly has that in his memory.”
The good news is that, when “Ash vs Evil Dead” premieres on October 31st, it doesn’t sound as if this is an issue.
All of us here at Bloody Disgusting are deeply sad to learn that The Blob director Chuck Russell has passed away at 74 years old.
Russell’s career began with his directorial debut, 1987’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
The multihyphenate film director, screenwriter, and producer is best known for helming 1994 comedy The Mask starring Jim Carrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner Eraser, and adventure spinoff The Scorpion King. The latter served as the first leading role for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The filmmaker left an indelible mark on horror with his ANOES sequel, 1988’s The Blob, and 2000’s Bless the Child.
Russell’s final film credit is 2024’s Witchboard remake starring Madison Iseman (I Know What You Did Last Summer), Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building), and Jamie Campbell Bower (“Stranger Things”).
It marked Russell’s return to horror after a lengthy hiatus, and he shared sequel hopes to Bloody Disgusting in an interview ahead of the remake’s release: “I got to design the board with real mystical symbols and things that I know represent good and evil, and where that board takes us if the audiences respond to the film, and I hope they will; I know it’s out there for you guys, but the sequel is a world we’ll get to go a little further. That’s sure the intention.”
He also recently expressed interest in returning to the franchise that began his career.
TMZ notes that Russell passed away at his San Diego-area home.
We send our deepest condolences to Chuck Russell’s family, friends, and fans.
Director, Co-Writer & Producer Chuck Russell behind the scenes of the horror film, WITCHBOARD. Photo courtesy of The Avenue and Atlas Distribution
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