Mike Sprague of JoBlo definitely appears to think that CM Punk, formerly of the WWE, could take on the role of Ash in the next Evil Dead reboot, and he might have point. Punk certainly has the attitude down and he’s not too bad when it comes to comedy since his acting skills have been put to the test during his time as a wrestler. It’s kind of irritating in a way to think that anyone would think that he could replace Bruce Campbell, but in terms of a remake or reboot, it could be that he’s one of the only guys that could really pull off the look and the kind of acting that Bruce made famous in the original Evil Dead movies. Seriously, the guy had a chainsaw attached to his hand at one point and was going stark raving mad inside the cabin in the second movie, proving that not only was he great at horror, but that he could inject a type of madness that was absolutely hilarious into the movie as well. Right now the image of him laughing his head off as he squatted up and down with a wheezing, possessed lamp before cracking up again is pretty prominent, and seeing Punk do something like that is now a burning desire.
Normally I don’t root for reboots or remakes since too often they get something wrong or butcher the idea of the movie in the first place and make me want to sit down and binge watch a bunch of original movies so as to get the feeling back without having to think about how the remake really tortured the source material. But there’s something here that could possibly work, the fact that Bruce Campbell is helping to produce the movie. The source material of any movie is highly important since while a remake or reboot doesn’t necessarily have to cling to it like a lifeline it does need to keep it in the periphery so as to draw from it as is needed now and again. Otherwise a new story that has something and someone that we haven’t seen before is enough to be exciting but also to be cautious of since the history of such movies is never a sure thing these days. Perhaps one day the formula for remakes and reboots will finally reach a state of equilibrium where people will trust them without question, but it hasn’t come quite yet.
As far as acting goes CM Punk isn’t that bad at what he does since he’s had to act for quite some time in the WWE prior to this and while some of what he was doing during his long talks might not have been acting, it was still convincing enough to the people listening to get their attention and keep it. From his facial expressions to his movements though it’s pretty clear that Punk would be a natural to take over as Ash since at this point Bruce is getting a bit old and despite his sense of humor and his acting ability still being intact, it might be time to let someone else give it a try that might do a bit of good for the role. The most recent version of the Evil Dead in 2013 was definitely horrifying but otherwise was kind of a bust since a lot of people wanted to see Ash, but he never showed. That wasn’t the way the movie was designed however despite the fact that it took everything else and ran with it.
The Evil Dead that people wanted to see though had the guy that would one day hoist a chainsaw and a boomstick high as he took on the monsters that were seeking to enter our world and ended up losing a hand because of it. If the movie that’s being talked about at this point does any good it’s a hope that another one would follow and perhaps even Army of Darkness could make the list since that too was one of Bruce’s funnier movies even if it was pretty campy throughout the majority of it. Sometimes though camp is what’s needed and it’s what the people want since it doesn’t have to necessarily be good and the effects don’t always have to be top notch. It matters more if the acting is well done and the story works as it’s supposed to.
Bringing in Punk for this role would be a lot of fun since it would give him a chance to play it feels like, a chance to get on the big screen and just play as much as he could in a role that was already made famous but is definitely up for another look with someone that can do it a bit of justice.
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