It appears like the Evil Dead will return to theatres as Warner Bros. moves about the release dates of some of its big films. The sixth film in the campy horror series, directed by Lee Cronin and originally shown exclusively on HBO Max, will now open in cinemas on April 21, 2023. Along with New Line Cinema’s remake of House Party (also starring Alyssa Sutherland, Lily Sullivan, Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, Nell Fisher, and Mia Challis), which opens on December 9, this picture, directed by Lee Cronin and produced by Bruce Campbell, will be released exclusively in theatres. With a demon invasion of Los Angeles, Evil Dead Rise aims to provide a new perspective on the brand and its devoted Deadites.
The story follows Ellie, the elder sister, and her younger sister, whose reunion is cut short when a mystery book is found in Ellie’s apartment building. They’ll need to band together to repel the evil forces that have been called to their planet if they have any hope of saving their loved ones and putting the tragedy behind them. The trailer did so well at CineEurope that the decision was taken to release the film in theatres immediately, despite the fact that it is an Ashless sequel in a very different franchise. Audiences, so the rumour goes, loved where Cronin took the series next. The second possible cause is David Zaslav’s determination to expand theatrical releases of Warner Bros. Discovery products.
Now that the theatre sector is beginning to recover from the epidemic, Zaslav has pledged a total reversal of the company’s previous mentality. Zaslav intended to take advantage of the marketing and word-of-mouth hype that comes with a big-screen release, although many movies were originally geared at HBO Max to raise subs to the streamer in the middle of the enormous reduction in theatrical attendance. After a string of negative press under the Warner Bros. Discovery banner, this is a significant win for fans of the Evil Dead franchise. Campbell, the series’s current lead and an executive producer on the picture, recently reassured audiences that they had good reason to anticipate Cronin’s next entry in the franchise, calling it “something to look forward to.”
Former Evil Dead director and Evil Dead Rise executive producer Sam Raimi chose Cronin to lead the franchise going forward without merely retreading past terrain, and early signs show that the decision has paid off in spades. The gory film was completed in October and is scheduled for release on April 21, 2023.