On Friday, Starz announced that it had let the Deadites win and that Ash Vs. Evil Dead would be ending after its season finale at the end of this month, prompting fans—and Bloody Disgusting—to start petitioning for Netflix (which already has the streaming rights) to keep the show alive. Unfortunately, series star Bruce Campbell has arrived to chop those hopes up with a chainsaw hand, thanking fans “for the effort” but noting that he’s retiring from playing longtime Evil Dead hero Ash Williams.
Campbell has been playing Ash off and on since Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead way back in 1981, popping up again in the movie’s sequels, a few video games, and a post-credits cameo in the Evil Dead remake before coming back for his regular gig on the Starz show. It’s possible that Ash Vs. Evil Dead could continue without Campbell in some way, but you can’t really put Ash’s name in the title if Ash isn’t in the show.