Evil Dead Wrath Is Set in 1972, Making It the Franchise’s First True Prequel

Producer Rob Tapert has quietly confirmed that Evil Dead Wrath predates every film in the franchise. As in, all of them.

Evil Dead Wrath

Tapert made the revelation during an appearance at Michigan State University the same school Sam Raimi‘s cabin-doomed characters attended and Dread Central surfaced the remarks this week. “This is yet another great departure,” Tapert said. “It predates everything. It takes place in 1972.”

That places Evil Dead Wrath a full nine years before Ash Williams and friends ever set foot in that cabin. Bloody Disgusting notes it is technically the first proper prequel in franchise history Army of Darkness had its medieval flashbacks, but Ash was still the lead. This time, nobody we know is showing up.

Director Francis Galluppi (The Last Stop in Yuma County) is going all-in on period authenticity too. According to Tapert, Galluppi and his DP plan to shoot in Ektachrome 100 — a warm, tungsten-leaning film stock popular in the early ’70s — so the movie will look as much like 1972 as it feels like it. Alas, no trailer exists yet to judge for ourselves.

The cast includes Charlotte Hope (The Nun), Jessica McNamee (Mortal Kombat), Zach Gilford (Midnight Mass), Josh Helman (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga), Ella Newton (Dangerous Animals), Elizabeth Cullen, and newcomer Ella Oliphant. Sam Raimi and Tapert produce; Bruce Campbell and Lee Cronin executive produce.

Tapert also teased that Wrath will have “coming-of-age sexual hijinks” — something the franchise is decidedly not known for — and that it may have the most difficulty with the MPAA since the original The Evil Dead. UK audiences should expect a similarly robust BBFC conversation when that certification process begins ahead of its theatrical run.

In the meantime, Sébastien Vaniček‘s Evil Dead Burn hits US theaters on July 10th, 2026. For UK fans, Sony Pictures Releasing International handles the international distribution, though a specific UK date for Burn has not been confirmed at the time of writing.

Evil Dead Wrath is currently slated for April 7, 2028. For more on the franchise, check out our coverage of the gruesome director’s cut Vaniček has been teasing for Evil Dead Burn.

We’ll keep you posted on updates about Evil Dead Wrath as the project develops.