Evil Dead Rise, the long-awaited fifth installment in the Evil Dead franchise, hit theaters on April 21. The series first kicked off in 1981 with the release of The Evil Dead, which turned into a trilogy directed by Sam Raimi and featuring Bruce Campbell’s Ash. After the trilogy’s conclusion in 1993, Fede Álvarez gave the franchise a soft reboot 20 years later with 2013’s Evil Dead.
Instead of continuing down the reboot path, director Lee Cronin decided to make the franchise’s newest installment a sequel to the original trilogy. Evil Dead Rise follows single mother Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), whose three children and estranged sister must fight for survival when she becomes the victim of demonic possession. So far, the film has received largely positive reviews, with critics praising the gore, violence, and terror, as well as the balance Evil Dead Rise strikes between hearkening back to the original franchise and presenting something new.
As a result, many viewers will be flocking to the theater to catch Evil Dead Rise. It holds appeal for new horror fans, fans of the original franchise, and anyone who enjoys a good gorefest on the big screen. Now that the franchise has been revived, and given the teensy post-credits bit in the 2013 film, some viewers may be wondering whether Evil Dead Rise has a similar scene hinting at the future of Evil Dead.
Does Evil Dead Rise have a post-credits scene?
The short answer is: No, Evil Dead Rise doesn’t have any post-credits or mid-credits scenes. You’re good to go once the credits start rolling, and if you run fast enough, you might even be able to exit the theater before something grabs your ankles. However, just because there’s no credits scene doesn’t mean that the franchise isn’t gearing up to continue past Evil Dead Rise. The original trilogy never had post-credit scenes, which makes sense that Evil Dead Rise would follow suit. Meanwhile, the ending teased that demons and evil are still swirling around in the universe and ready to terrorize new victims.
Plus, Campbell has teased future films in the franchise and that the gaps between such films will be significantly shorter than we’re used to. He told the A.V. Club:
“I think the stories will progress a little more now. We’re going to try and do them more like every two or three years rather than every 10 years. It’s also the first time Sam is working with his brother Ivan to create an overall Bible that will give future writers and directors an idea of where this thing should go next to potentially tie in some of these stories. So I think it’s going to get a little more tied in as the years go by. But because it’s all about the books. It could be a book in the past, a book in the future. It’s yet to be determined.”
So it’s been confirmed that Raimi is still working on the franchise behind the scenes by writing an entire Evil Dead bible for future filmmakers to reference. If Evil Dead Rise continues to receive positive reviews and holds its own at the box office, there’s a good chance of the franchise continuing, even if there’s no post-credits scene that explicitly sets up another film.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
