Summary

• Freddy vs Jason vs Ash had limitations due to New Line Cinema.
• A fair battle of slashers wouldn't have been possible with New Line Cinema's involvement.
• Freddy vs Jason vs Ash happened in comic books, and gave them a better story.

Bruce Campbell opened up about what happened with the crossover horror movie Freddy vs Jason vs Ash, and after what he said, I’m relieved it never happened. Crossovers are not rare in the horror genre, but not all of them have had the desired success for different reasons. The ones that have succeeded and earned a spot in horror history are those starring well-known monsters/characters in big productions, as is the case for Alien vs Predator and Freddy vs Jason, the latter being a long-awaited battle between two of the most popular slasher killers.

Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees are key characters in the history of the slasher genre, who, along with Halloween’s Michael Myers, established what a slasher killer is like and the structure of a slasher film. Despite not being the critics’ favorite, Freddy vs Jason was a huge box-office hit, becoming the second highest-grossing film in the Evil Dead franchise. However, Freddy vs Jason vs Ash never happened, but now I’m glad it didn’t.

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash Had Many Limitations Due To New Line Cinema

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash Had To Follow Certain Rules

The sequel to Freddy vs Jason would have added another slasher character to the mix, though not a villain like Krueger and Voorhees: Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams, the main character in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy. The sequel crossover would have been simply titled Freddy vs Jason vs Ash, but it never happened due to creative differences between New Line Cinema and the team behind Evil Dead, one of them Bruce Campbell. Campbell had previously spoken about why Freddy vs Jason vs Ash never happened, citing creative differences with the studio that produced Freddy vs Jason, but he has now shared more details.

The Evil Dead franchise has continued without Ash Williams since 2013, becoming more of an anthology saga post-Ash.

There were some big limitations to what they could do once Ash ed the fun.

Speaking to Collider at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Campbell opened up once more about the not-so-pleasant development process of Freddy vs Jason vs Ash and why it never happened. Campbell explained he and the Evil Dead team had a five-minute conversation with New Line Cinema, the studio that brought Freddy vs Jason to life, but there were some big limitations to what they could do once Ash ed the fun. Campbell explained they were told by New Line that they couldn’t kill either Freddy or Jason nor could there be any plot or dialogue that affected them.

Campbell and company could only control Ash, and there wasn’t much they could do if they couldn’t really touch Krueger and Voorhees. The plot and dialogue limitations also made the project what Campbell calls “creatively bankrupt”. Freddy vs Jason vs Ash was canceled, and Freddy vs Jason never got a sequel.

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash Wouldn't Have Been A Fair Battle Of Slashers

One Of Them Would Have Been At Great Disadvantage

A large part of what makes Ash Williams so entertaining is that he’s a guy with chaotic good luck.

If Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees couldn’t be killed and the plot and dialogue couldn’t affect them, the story of Freddy vs Jason vs Ash would have been quite boring and unfair. Each of these slashers has its own strengths and weaknesses, and a large part of what makes Ash Williams so entertaining is that he’s a guy with chaotic good luck. No matter the mess he gets himself into, Ash always comes out on top, though not before a lot of chaos and almost dying more than once.

Campbell’s comments make me think that the only option New Line gave him and the Evil Dead team was Krueger and Voorhees killing Ash.

Ash not having that legendary good luck just because the studio didn’t let anything happen to Krueger and Voorhees wouldn’t have been a fair battle. Campbell’s comments make me think that the only option New Line gave him and the Evil Dead team was Krueger and Voorhees killing Ash, which wouldn’t be easy to believe. I think I can believe a lot more that they all survived, though injured, than that Krueger and/or Voorhees killed the legendary Ash Williams.

I agree with Campbell that, with New Line’s limitations, Freddy vs Jason vs Ash would have been a convoluted and terrible story with a “silly” concept, and, ultimately, each franchise moved on with other projects: A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th got remakes of their very first movie, while Evil Dead continued with a re-imagining and a standalone entry.

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash Still Happened In Comic Books

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash Found Another Way

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash became a six-issue comic book limited series released between November 2007 and March 2008.

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash never made it to the big screen, but it did happen, though in another format. Freddy vs Jason vs Ash became a six-issue comic book limited series released between November 2007 and March 2008. Written by James Kuhoric and illustrated by Jason Craig, Freddy vs Jason vs Ash was based on the treatment written by Jeff Katz for a sequel to Freddy vs Jason, and it’s set five years after the events of the movie.

The Freddy vs Jason vs Ash comic book series gave these characters a much fairer fight.

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash saw Krueger using Voorhees to get the Necronomicon so he could restore himself to full power, and he did, while also increasing Voorhees’ intelligence. Ash, now working at Crystal Lake S-Mart, confronted Krueger and Voorhees with a team of fellow S-Mart employees, and at the end of the series, Ash defeated both slashers, sending Krueger to the Deadite world and isolating Jason and the Necronomicon underneath a frozen Crystal Lake. The Freddy vs Jason vs Ash comic book series gave these characters a much fairer fight, and it’s a lot better this way.

Source: Collider.