Starz Orders 'Evil Dead' Sequel Series Starring Bruce Campbell

Remember when there was all that hubbub about Sam Raimi's big plans for Evil Dead following the mildly successful remake? There was talk of fashioning out a trilogy that would connect to the classic Evil Dead flicks, a pretty ambitious plan that we've heard precious little about lately. But also in the midst of all that was news of an Evil Dead TV show that Raimi was writing with his brother, Ivan, and apparently the Starz network loved the sound of it.

According to Variety, Starz has ordered up Ash vs. Evil Dead, a 10-episode sequel series that will naturally star Bruce Campbell. The now much-older Ash has spent the last 30 years avoiding any kind of responsibility, but when a new Deadite threat emerges he must face his demons, both the literal and personal kind. Sam Raimi, who worked with Starz on the great Spartacus TV series, will direct the first 30-minute episode, exec-produce, and write the scripts along with Ivan Rami and Tom Spezialy.

So good news, I guess? Ash is back and presumably so is his boomstick. Episodes are scheduled to begin airing in 2015.

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Alex Garland to Direct 'Annihilation'; Stephen Chbosky Remaking 'Patrik 1.5', and More

After the wildly enthusiastic response to the first Ex Machina trailer, Alex Garland's directorial future is looking brighter than ever. The Sunshine and 28 Days Later screenwriter has already lined up his next gig behind the camera, adapting and directing Annihilation, based on the first book in Jeff VanderMeer's "Southern Reach Trilogy". The premise sounds a lot like Danny Boyle's The Beach, which Garland adapted based on his own novel. Here's the Annihilation synopsis: A team of four (a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor) set out into a place known as Area X. The area is abandoned and cut off from the rest of civilization. They are the 12th expedition. The other expeditions have been fraught with disappearances, suicides, aggressive cancers, and mental trauma. [Variety]

Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) is attached to direct Patrik 1.5, a remake of the 2008 Swedish dramedy Patrik, Age 1.5.  The story centers on a gay couple looking to adopt a 1 and a 1/2 year-old-boy, but instead receive a homophobic 15-year-old because of a mistaken decimal point. Expect lots of hugs, tears, messages about tolerance, general heart-warming stuff Chbosky is good at.

Fede Alvarez, whose Evil Dead remake you've probably already forgotten about, is reteaming with Sam Raimi on a different kind of thriller, A Man in the Dark. The home invasion horror follows "a group of three teens who execute perfectly planned home robberies. Their final target is a reclusive blind man who's hiding millions of dollars, but when they break into his house, they find themselves up against a psychopath with his own secrets." Alvarez will direct and co-write with Rodo Sayagues, with Raimi on board as producer. [THR]

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Sam Raimi to Direct 'Love May Fail'; Stephen Chbosky Learns 'Santa is Real'

Remember a few months ago when there was all that attention on Sam Raimi doing more Evil Dead? Where's that been lately? Not much has been heard about it and now Raimi, who last directed Oz the Great and Powerful, has landed a new gig.

Deadline reports Raimi is in talks to direct Love May Fail, an adaptation of the upcoming book by Silver Linings Playbook author, Matthew Quick. Written for the screen by Mike White (School of Rock), the story follows a "woman who is coming off a demoralizing ending to her marriage to a cheating husband returns to her hometown determined to clear the name of her favorite English teacher, whose career was ended forcibly after a classroom scandal." She's joined in her journey to justice by a sassy nun, an ex-heroine addict, a metal-head little boy, and her mother who happens to be a hoarder.

So this is pure Quick with quirky characters and odd predicaments, and it will be interesting to see Raimi get away from the blockbusters for awhile.

Also, The Perks of Being a Wallflower author/director Stephen Chbosky has found his next project. He'll go in a different direction entirely by directing Santa is Real, which is also based on the book, Santa Claus Is for Real: A True Christmas Fable About the Magic of Believing. Penned by Larry Stuckey (Little Fockers), the family musical tells the true story of Hall, a struggling actor whose life is saved when he plays Santa in Radio City's Christmas Spectacular. [THR]

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Comic-Con: Maisie Williams Has Met for 'The Last of Us'; Sam Rami Writing 'Evil Dead' TV Show

A special "sneak peek" panel is taking place at Comic-Con right now, and the first two guests are Neil Druckman, director of video game studio Naughty Dog, and Sam Raimi. A few months ago we learned Raimi would be producing a film based on the hit "zombie" video game, The Last of Us, and the two were here to talk about it a little.

The big gem to come out of it was that Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams has met for the lead role of Ellie, who is accompanied across a devastated, post-apocalyptic U.S. by a man named Joel. They considered bringing her on stage for the panel but apparently decided against it.

Also, Raimi was asked about the status of more Evil Dead movies and revealed he is actually writing a TV series based on his cult horror, and yes he's working with Bruce Campbell on it. Feel free to speculate on how that could work on the small screen.

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Sam Raimi Boards 'The Outpost'; Steve Pink Goes 'Overnight'; Joe Carnahan Takes 'Five Against a Bullet'

* Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful didn't exactly leave audiences begging for a sequel, which is probably why we haven't heard Disney say anything about one. So what's he going to do next? Well, he's been keeping busy with TV projects and there's always talk of more Evil Dead movies, but it looks Raimi will next be producing and possibly directing The Outpost. Penned by Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (The Wrestler) and based on the book by CNN reporter Jake Tapper, the true story centers on the war in Afghanistan and the defense of Combat Outpost Keating by 53 American soldiers as they were overrun by more than 400 Taliban fighters. This is the kind of film we've never seen Raimi tackle before and hopefully the script comes together in a way that allows him to take the helm. [Deadline]

* Steve Pink, who has been keeping busy with remake of About Last Night and the upcoming Hot Tub Time Machine 2, will direct Disney's kiddie adventure movie, Overnight. Ruben Fleischer had been in talks for the job it didn't get very far. Written by Oren Uziel (22 Jump Street), the story follows an absent-minded, recently divorced  father and his son staying overnight in a toy store until thieves break in and hostage situation must be defused. [THR]

* Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces, The Grey) is taking on another macho flick in Five Against a Bullet, which Bruce Willis was attached to at one point. His name is missing from The Wrap's report so we can assume he's dropped out of the film about "five bodyguards hired to protect a Mexican politician over the course of a contentious election after his father is murdered by a drug cartel." It's described as in the vein of The Magnificent Seven and The Wild Bunch which is a pretty good place to start and right up Carnahan's alley.

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Sam Raimi to Produce 'The Grudge' Reboot

Some grudges never die, no matter how badly they need to. There was a point when Hollywood was absolutely obsessed with Japanese horror movies, specifically Ringu and Ju-On, which were remade here in America as The Ring and The Grudge. They were pretty much the same outside of a few minor tweaks; same spooky visual palette, creepy kids, storylines that made less sense in subsequent sequels, and so forth. It's been eight years since the last theatrical release, and five years since The Grudge 3 opened straight-to-DVD, but somebody thinks it's a good a time to bring it back to the big screen. >sigh<

Sam Raimi is set to produce a reboot of The Grudge through his Ghost House Productions banner, coming off the modest success of his Evil Dead remake last year. The original film starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as an American who encounters the evil spirits of a dead family while in Tokyo. Jeff Buhler (Midnight Meat Train) is penning the relaunch but there's no director attached just yet.

This is something I could definitely do without as I loathed the whole J-Horror craze.

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Hugh Jackman's Wolverine Was Almost In Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man'

If there's one dream that comic book fanboys have for their favorite heroes on the silver screen, it's that one day we'll see Spider-Man swinging through Avengers Mansion while Wolverine pops a cold one in the kitchen. Unfortunately with Marvel's heroes scattered across multiple studios, that's unlikely to ever happen, no matter what Vin Diesel says.

But it almost did happen back in 2002, at least according to Hugh Jackman. While talking to HuffPo, he revealed that Wolverine almost made a cameo in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, this despite the X-Men falling under the 20th Century Fox banner and Sony's control of Spidey. In fact, it would have happened if not for something really lame occurring just before....

Jackman: "In the first "Spider-Man" -- Kevin Feige reminded me of this -- we really tried to get me to come on and do something, whether it was a gag or just to walk through the shot or something. The problem was, we couldn't find the suit. The suit was stuck in some thing. And so when they were in New York when I was there, we couldn't get it together. So, you know, I actually asked some high level people about it. Because the optimist in me goes, "Why not? Why can't we do it? You know, a split cast or whatever?" And someone reminded that the amount of money Fox paid compared to the amount of money Disney paid is very different [laughs]. So how you split that pie up? God knows. But in the comic books, what's great about it is they're just mashing together all the time -- and it's awesome. And people are like, "Yeah, well, let's get this one with that!" And, you know, I still think, one day, there may be an ability to do it."

Jackman has been pretty vocal about his desire to see the Marvel brands united, so it's not surprising how gung-ho he was for the cameo to happen back then. He'd obviously be just as into it now if the opportunity came up. It's just a little odd Wolvie's jacket wasn't available all of a sudden. The question is why would it have been possible then when it clearly isn't now? Let's not forget that comic book movies weren't quite as big back then as they are now, so the studios were probably more forgiving. And they probably wouldn't have used the name "Wolverine" at all, nor would we have seen any claws or anything like that to avoid any potential legal complications.

Still, this is a pretty cool case of "What could have been".  Wolverine will be seen next alongside his mutant brethren in X-men: Days of Future Past on May 23rd 2014.

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Watch out for the mirror! New clip from Fede Alvarez's 'Evil Dead'

There's been more talk about Sam Raimi's Evil Dead now than ever before, and only some of it has to do with all of the hype surrounding potential sequels of his original, Bruce Campbell-led trilogy. A good deal of the buzz is about Fede Alvarez's remake, which many looked upon with skepticism when it was first announced, but now has earned rave reviews from those lucky enough to catch it early.

With a marketing campaign proudly boasting this would be the scariest movie you'll ever see, a new clip has emerged to give you just a small taste of the horrors we're all in store for. The brief scene features a traumatized Jessica Lucas, and it involves a mirror that seems to have a mind of its own. Have mirrors ever been a good thing in movies like this?

Starring Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Elizabeth Blackmore, Evil Dead hits theaters on April 5th.

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New red band trailer for 'Evil Dead' is seriously screwed up

Often times, red band trailers aren't really all that different from their green band counterparts. They've become standard practice now, just another marketing ploy to fool some into thinking a film is raunchier and more risque than it genuinely is. That most definitely is not the case with the new red band for the Evil Dead remake. It's simply one of the goriest and most screwed up pieces of work I've ever seen. Consider yourself warned.

Starring an unrecognizable Jane Levy(Fun Size) as the lead, joining a group of fellow youths who head out into the woods where they run across the infamous Book of the Dead. Fans of Sam Raimi's 1981 cult classic know things go south from there, but never quite like this. There's a reason why Raimi and director Fede Alvarez are so quick to boast it will be "The most terrifying film you will ever experience".

Co-starring Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore, and Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead arrives on April 12th....

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The bloody red band trailer for the 'Evil Dead' remake

When Sam Raimi first revealed that he was remaking his camp horror classic, Evil Dead, it was unsurprisingly met with skepticism. It would be one thing if Raimi himself was directing, but instead the reins were handed over to newcomer Fede Alvarez. With the promise of a new female Ash replacing the irreplaceable Bruce Campbell, the expectation was that this might fall in with all of the other horror remakes that crashed and burned.

And then the first footage of the film was shown at New York Comic-Con, and the response by the fans was so wildly enthusiastic that they used it in yesterday's trailer tease. After a leaked version of it appeared a few days ago(and was swiftly removed), the full red band trailer has been unveiled and it more than lives up to the hype.

Targeted squarely at the skeptics, immediately the ominous and gory tone is in effect as the blood flows freely and terror is amplified. The cheesiness of the original seems to be taking a back seat in favor a more disturbing experience, capped off by a chilling tongue-slicing. I've said it before that the original Evil Dead isn't a particular favorite, but the redo looks fantastic.

Starring Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Bruce Campbell, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Elizabeth Blackmore, Evil Dead opens on April 12th 2013....

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Trailer tease for the 'Evil Dead' remake

Eagle-eyed readers of this site probably caught the leaked trailer for the Fede Alvarez-directed, Sam Raimi-produced Evil Dead remake. Well that footage was taken down soon after, but you can get a taste of it in this new teaser, setting up the full red band trailer that should hit the web tomorrow.

The response to the footage out of New York Comic-Con was phenomenal, and they are certainly emphasizing that in this teaser. Appeasing the horror fanboys is never easy, but Raimi and Co. seem to have found the right formula to keep them happy while introducing the cult classic to a new audience.

We'll have the whole thing up for you tomorrow. Evil Dead is set to open next year on April 12th.

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Leaked trailer for the 'Evil Dead' remake!

NYCC was the place to be over the weekend if you're one of those curious to see how the Carrie and Evil Dead remakes were shaping up. Audiences were treated to new images and footage(which we have here), and the response to all of it has been overwhelmingly positive. But more so than Carrie, Evil Dead caused an uproar from fans who were worried about the changes that would be made to their beloved cult classic. The response from the crowd at the event responded with overwhelming praise, and judging by this newly leaked trailer, I don't think fans of Sam Raimi's film have anything to be concerned about. 

Produced by Raimi and directed by Fede Alvarez, what is immediately apparent in this very hardcore NSFW footage is that it's going to be very violent and incredibly gory. I'm also not sensing much of the campiness of the original. This one is clearly targeting horror fans with strong stomachs, as seen in the copious amounts of blood and chopped up body parts. As I've said before, Evil Dead was never really my thing, but this looks like something to get excited over.

Starring Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Blackmore, and Jessica Lucas, Evil Dead opens next year on April 12th 2013. Check out the leaked trailer below, and know that we'll update this once the official one hits....[We Got This Covered]

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'The Amazing Spider-Man' movie ticket offer!

The Amazing Spider-Man swings into your friendly neighborhood movie theater in barely a week, showing us Peter Parker's incredible superhero story from an entirely new perspective. Starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, the film is sure to be one of the biggest hits of the summer, and we want you to see it for less. From now until August 3rd 2012, if you purchase any one Blu-Ray of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films, you'll receive a redeemable promotional code good for one admission to The Amazing Spider-Man.

It's a fantastic deal, so be sure to take advantage and tell your friends. Find out more and buy your Spider-Man Blu-Rays just by going here! And be sure to stick with us for all your DVD and Blu-Ray needs!

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Trailer Time: 'The Possession', starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgewick

The Possession might seem like just another supernatural horror involving evil spirits and haunted houses, but the film has quite an interesting origin. Formerly titled Dibbuk Box, a "dybbuk" is an evil spirit from Jewish folklore. The title comes from a wine cabinet that has been haunted by the spirit of a dead immigrant, and was sold recently on Ebay. Every person who has own the box has experienced strange things and horrifying nightmares. It's story was chronicled an LA Times article titled 'Jinx in a Box'.

So now we have a film based on that story, with Sam Raimi on board as a producer and Ole Borndeal(Nightwatch) directing. Jeffrey Dean Morgan(Watchmen) plays the father of a young girl who buys a dybbuk box at a yard sale, only to awaken some sort of ancient evil. Doesn't sound all that novel, I know, but the actual trailer is pretty damn creepy, especially when they try to figure out what's going on with the girl through traditional means. The X-ray bit is something I've never seen before, and the last shot of the trailer might make this film worth checking out all by itself. The script comes from Stiles White and Juliet Snowden, who wrote the smart Nicolas Cage thriller(contradiction??), Knowing. 

The Possession opens on August 31st.....

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Sure Shots: Nick Nolte; 'Poltergeist'; Guillermo Del Toro

* It's been a long time since Nick Nolte has had a chance to play the leading man, having found a niche in stellar supporting turns of late. He'll get a chance to show his starring creds once more as he'll star in Bitterroot, the directorial debut of music video helmer, Chris Milk. Nolte will play a Montana rancher who gets screwed out of his life savings in a bank scam, and since nobody will do anything about it, he grabs his guns and heads off to find the culprits. Nice. A perfect for the grizzled Nolte, who has been killing it lately, earning an Oscar nomination for his performance in Warrior. The Black List approved script comes from Michael Giglio. [Variety]

* For awhile there, it looked like Sam Raimi(The Evil Dead) might be coming aboard MGM's upcoming remake of Tobe Hooper's 1983 horror, Poltergeist, but according to Heatvision that's not the case. Instead, Raimi will be joining in a producer capacity, with the hunt for a director still underway. Last June we learned that David Lindsay-Abaire(Rabbit Hole) will pen the script, having worked with Raimi on the upcoming Oz: The Great and Powerful. Am I wrong in thinking Ti West(The Innkeepers) would be perfect for this?

* Guillermo Del Toro is adding the muscle of his name to The Bloody Benders, a horror movie which he'll join as a producer. Based on a spec script by Adam Robitel, the film will tell the true story of the Bender clan, who in the late 19th century owned an Labette County, Kansas inn. They would reportedly kill any guests staying at the inn using a complex system which involved a hammer blow to the head, followed by a knife cut to the throat, and finally the disposing of the bodies through a trap door positioned beneath the dining room table. The search for a director will take place while Del Toro is in post-production on Pacific Rim, his big budget monster invasion film hitting theaters next year. [Deadline]

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Jane Levy replaces Lily Collins in 'Evil Dead'

Lily Collins skipped out on the remake of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead? Pfft! Big deal! There certainly hasn't been much of stall in the casting ever since, with Shiloh Fernandez(Red Riding Hood) taking on the male lead, and now someone I've never heard of but who is apparently very popular has stepped in to replace Ms. Collins.

Jane Levy, who stars on the ABC series Suburgatory, will take on the crucial female lead as Mia, a woman trying to overcome a drug habit by cooling out with her friends in a secluded cabin. That is until somebody accidentally lets loose a bunch of demonites, and because of her past nobody believes Mia when she tries to warn them. Directed by Fede Alvarez with the latest script rewrite by Diablo Cody, it's a bit of a departure from Raimi's film, with the Mia character basically playing a newer version of Bruce Campbell's Ash.

I've never seen a single frame of anything Levy has been in, so I can't comment on her really. But considering I've never been a huge fan of Evil Dead, and the remake now having two leads who don't do much for me, the only thing that has me remotely interested is Cody's script.  Filming begins soon with an April 12th 2013 release.  [Deadline]

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Johnny Depp drops out of Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful; James Franco now the frontrunner

Johnny Depp clicked his loafers three times and wished himself free of Oz, and so it is done. The popular actor has been in talks to join Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful ever since Robert Downey Jr. dropped out of the role, reportedly that of an illusionist with an attitude who gets swept up in a hot air balloon and lands in Oz. That puts him at odds with the two witches who run the place. No reason was given for Depp's refusal, but it's not as if he isn't busy enough.

So who's next on the list?  According to THR, Raimi is now in preliminary talks with James Franco to headline the pic. Raimi and Franco worked together before on Spider-Man, but Franco's dance card is pretty well booked up and there's no guarantee he'll want to tackle yet another possible franchise. He's just completed Rise of the Apes and has a number of other projects in the works, including some behind the camera.

I can't be the only one who thinks this movie's looking more and more tenuous. There are a number of Wizard of Oz related flicks in the works right now, and if Franco passes we could see this one fall way behind in a lot of people's minds. 

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'Oz the Great and Powerful' loses Robert Downey Jr., aims for Johnny Depp

Forget hearts, brains, and courage, what 'Oz the Great and Powerful' needs right now is a new lead actor. Robert Downey Jr., who has been attached to star in Sam Raimi's film about a young illusionist's arrival to the magical land of Oz, has just dropped out according to THR. No reason was given, but this leaves Disney in something of a jam since they've just started prep work on designing the world of Oz.  Since this is expected to be a large, important potential franchise for the studio, who else is Disney going to turn to but the ol' reliable Johnny Depp.

There's been no start date established for Oz as of yet, but the hope is for filming to being later this year. That could cause some conflicts for Depp, since he's already got Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger and Tim Burton's Dark Shadows on his dance card. Taking on Oz could force some shuffling of one of those projects.

This makes the second film Downey has dropped out of this year, with the first being Alfonso Cuaron's sci-fi epic, Gravity.

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145 Reasons Why Spider-Man 3 Sucks

I think we can all agree that Spider-Man 3 was atrocious. I, like most people, was extremely jazzed at the idea of seeing the web slinger in his classic black alien duds. Then I saw the movie and realized that apparently that was all Sam Raimi was prepared to give us. Story be damned, Spidey's in a cool suit!! I haven't watched it in awhile, and probably never will unless I'm tied up and toothpicks placed under my eyelids, but this video captures all the minute reasons why Spider-Man 3 sucks. My personal favorite is #65. No wait, it's #73! After this you'll have no doubt in your mind why it was a good idea to start over from scratch.

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Sure Shots: Sam Raimi/Oz; Hellboy 3; Pretty Boy Floyd

* Looks like that story about Sam Raimi signing on to helm Oz, the Great and Powerful was a little bit off. The director now says that he is not fully committed to the job, and is taking a "wait and see" approach. It's possible he'll take on the War of Warcraft film first.

* At yesterday's Saturn Awards, Guillermo Del Toro revealed that there may be more Hellboy in store, but only after he completes his next project. He didn't say what that project was, but he did say that he hopes to be shooting in May of next year. So don't expect anything more from Hellboy and the rest of the BPRD until at least 2012.

* What're the chances of Channing Tatum reprising his role as Pretty Boy Floyd from last year's Public Enemies? Probably slim, but you never know now that Wayne Kramer(Running Scared) is attached to helm a film based on the famously handsome gangster.

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