SXSW: Bruce Campbell says that ‘Evil Dead’ remake is part of a new trilogy

Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead turned out to be the first part of a trilogy, so why can’t the remake be the same? Actor Bruce Campbell, who appeared in the original Evil Dead films, told fans at SXSW in Austin, Texas that the remake is part of a trilogy and work has already started on the Evil Dead 2 script.

Campbell, who is a producer on the new film, spoke at the Paramount Theater, following the remake’s world premiere. The graphic remake had audiences screaming, so it sounded as if they approved of director Fede Alverez’s reworking of the beloved horror classic.

“We're like proud uncles of this young man,” Campbell said about Alvarez, reports The Hollywood Reporter. “We're glad we got him because we won't be able to afford him much [longer].”

Alvarez joked that Raimi himself couldn’t be there because a “tiny, little independent film” (Oz The Great And Powerful) just opened.

Later in the Q&A session, Campbell revealed that a sequel is in the works, reports Deadline. “We already started writing Evil Dead 2,” he said.

Campbell is as much a fan-favorite actor as the films he’s made and had the crowd roaring in laughter.

“We were a little embarrassed seeing the green garden hose shooting s--t out,” he remembered about one effect in the 1981 film. “But are we going to go back like George Lucas and fix it? No.”

Evil Dead hits theaters on April 5. It earned an R-rating, despite its shocking blood and gore.

“It really wasn't a fight to get it through,” producer Rob Tapert said about the rating. “That was really shocking and a blessing.”

image: Sony