Bruce Campbell may have retired from his role as Ash Williams a year ago, but that doesn’t mean the cult-favorite actor is entirely through with the Evil Dead franchise.
In a new interview with Inquisitr, Campbell talked about the future of the franchise that made him famous, while also revealing that he maybe isn’t quite as retired as we had been led to believe. “I’m still doing video games, I’m doing voices for Ash. I’m just not going to grovel in the blood anymore,” Campbell said. “I’m retiring from certain types of roles, ones that require looking at tennis balls on sticks… [Fans are] going to see different versions, they’re going to be seeing more Evil Dead, too. We’re not done with the Evil Dead saga, [there are] more stories to tell.”
So despite his retirement from the live-action role, it sounds like Campbell will never truly be free from Ash Williams — and that’s certainly good news to us. Speaking of good news, Campbell’s next live-action gig will be as host of the upcoming Ripley’s Believe It or Not reboot. The actor, who became a legend thanks to his many campy roles, seems like he’ll be the perfect fit for the relaunch of the classic oddities-chronicling series. “Things come across the old desk, you know, and you evaluate them. And this was a no-brainer,” Campbell said. “I still have the Ripley’s book, the red cloth-covered book with those strange illustrations of people doing crazy stuff inside. As a kid, I had it on a shelf so I’m like, ‘Yeah I know Ripley’s.'”
Campbell also revealed that the new series was filmed inside the actual Ripley’s warehouse, which made for quite the surreal experience. “It is the closest we have to one of those Indiana Jones-type warehouses,” Campbell said of the location. “It’s probably the most richly appointed warehouses in the world, I would say. They’ve collected for a hundred years. I can’t think of anyone else, maybe the Smithsonian, but Ripley’s is probably a close second. Ripley’s might have more stuff than the Smithsonian, that would be a fun one to test.”
Campbell’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not hosting duties are set to kick off on Sunday, June 9 at 9/8 C on the Travel Channel.
