Sam Raimi talks Evil Dead 4

Published at 1:10 PM on March 31, 2009

By Joe Shearer

Sixteen years ago, writer/director Sam Raimi appeared to have forever closed the book on the Evil Dead series with the third installment, Army of Darkness. But like Ash's encounters with the recurring Book of the Dead that just can't seem to stay shut, the saga appears to be back for another bite.

In an interview with Empire, Raimi finally updated us on the status of the project we've been hearing about for some time. Be prepared to be shocked, horrified and maybe, just maybe, pleasantly surprised. "We've got nine pages so far," Raimi says. (Don't worry; it gets even better.) "Every time I'm with my brother Ivan, we write another page of it. It's in Detroit and in my garage."

OK, so nine pages isn't a lot, but at least he's not acting all aloof or serving up ideas of grandeur that'll never happen. And, if you're wondering about your favorite big-chinned, B-movie actor, yes, Raimi is looking no further than Bruce Campbell to reprise his role as boomstick-wielding Ash. Although not yet deep into the plot, Raimi describes the little he has so far, saying, "There's some dialogue. Ash being an idiot. Ash taking some abuse. Some character stuff and then some structure of Act Two. Just other possibilities for things that could happen. It's ideas, jokes, things we'd like to see."

IMDb sets the release for Evil Dead 4 for 2011, but with it being so early with so little complete, it's hard to say when this chapter will come to fruition. In the meantime, whet your appetite by checking out the trailer for Raimi's next film, Drag Me to Hell: