Evil Dead Wrath Will Take Place Before the Original Evil Dead
The Evil Dead franchise is heading further back in time than ever before.
While fans are already looking forward to Sébastien Vaniček’s Evil Dead Burn, which arrives in cinemas on July 10, another chapter in the long-running horror saga is quietly taking shape behind the scenes. Evil Dead Wrath, directed by The Last Stop in Yuma County filmmaker Francis Galluppi, recently wrapped production ahead of its planned theatrical release on April 7, 2028.
Until now, very little had been revealed about the project. However, franchise producer Rob Tapert has finally offered horror fans their first significant clue about the film, and it may completely change how audiences view the Evil Dead timeline.
Speaking during a discussion with students at Michigan State University, Tapert revealed that Evil Dead Wrath takes place in 1972.
“Evil Dead Wrath is yet another great departure,” Tapert explained. “It predates everything. It takes place in 1972.”
That single piece of information instantly makes Wrath one of the most intriguing entries in franchise history. While the Evil Dead series has explored different time periods before, including the medieval setting of Army of Darkness, this will be the first film to take place chronologically before the events that started it all.
For horror fans, that means a story set years before Ash Williams and his friends ever arrived at that infamous cabin in the Tennessee woods.
Released in 1981, Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead remains one of the most influential independent horror films ever made. Made on a shoestring budget by a group of ambitious young filmmakers, the film introduced audiences to Ash Williams, portrayed by Bruce Campbell, and a group of friends who unknowingly unleash demonic forces after discovering the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis and recordings hidden within an isolated cabin.
What followed was a relentless nightmare of possession, dismemberment and supernatural terror unlike anything audiences had seen before. Despite its modest budget, Raimi’s inventive camera work, energetic direction and gruesome practical effects helped transform the film into a cult phenomenon. Over the following decades, it would spawn sequels, television series, comic books, video games and an entire horror franchise.
The mythology surrounding the Necronomicon and the Deadites has expanded significantly over the years, particularly through films such as Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, Evil Dead (2013) and Evil Dead Rise. Yet much of the franchise’s history before the events of the original film remains unexplored territory.
That is what makes Evil Dead Wrath so fascinating.
Evil Dead Wrath a Prequel?
Rather than revisiting familiar characters or retreading old ground, the film appears poised to explore a period of Evil Dead history that audiences have never seen before. Exactly how the story connects to the Necronomicon, the cabin or the wider mythology remains unknown, but setting the film in 1972 immediately opens up fresh storytelling possibilities.
Tapert also revealed that Galluppi and cinematographer Elliott Rockett are embracing the era in more ways than one. According to the producer, the filmmakers are aiming to replicate the visual appearance of movies made during the early 1970s, drawing inspiration from Ektachrome 100 film stock.
“It will feel like a 1972 movie because the director and his DP want to imitate the film’s look and feel of something that’s called Ektachrome 100,” Tapert explained. “It’s very warm, very tungsten.”
That commitment to authenticity could help Wrath stand apart from previous entries in the franchise. While the Evil Dead films have always evolved stylistically from one instalment to the next, a deliberate 1970s aesthetic could give the new movie a distinctive identity while still feeling connected to the era that inspired the original film.
Tapert also praised Galluppi’s approach to storytelling, describing the filmmaker’s style as “very Tarantino-esque” and “very deliberate.” Fans of The Last Stop in Yuma County will know that Galluppi already has experience recreating the atmosphere and visual language of the 1970s, making him an intriguing choice to guide the franchise into unexplored territory.
The cast includes Charlotte Hope (The Nun), Jessica McNamee (Mortal Kombat), Zach Gilford (Midnight Mass), Josh Helman (Mad Max: Fury Road), Ella Newton (Dangerous Animals), Elizabeth Cullen (Diabolic) and Ella Oliphant.
Behind the scenes, the project boasts strong franchise credentials. Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert return as producers, while Bruce Campbell and Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin serve as executive producers.
The Evil Dead franchise has survived for more than four decades because it has never been afraid to take risks. From supernatural cabin horror and medieval fantasy to television adventures and modern reimaginings, the series has constantly reinvented itself while remaining true to its demonic roots.
With Evil Dead Wrath now confirmed as a prequel set before the original film, it looks like the franchise is once again preparing to take fans somewhere entirely new.
