Bruce Campbell raises the curtain on act three of his life

When Bruce Campbell appeared at Fandemic in Sacramento, he talked with Bruce on the Loose podcast co-host, Abby Fagan. Now that he has left Ash behind, find out what is next on his horizon.

“Permanently retired from Ash, selectively retired from everything else.” – Bruce Campbell

Another Chapter Ends

Since Ash vs Evil Dead season 3 on DVD and Blu-ray hits retailers today, it is officially the end of an era. Yes, while Bruce Campbell has stated that he will be voicing his iconic character Ash Williams in an upcoming immersive virtual reality game, he has retired from that role and he is serious about that.

When he spoke with Abby Fagan, co-host of the Bruce on the Loose podcast at Fandemic in Sacramento he had this to say about his decision to relegate Ash to the past:

"“I am permanently retired from Ash and selectively retired from everything else. I’m glad we could bring him back. We owe a great debt to STARZ for having the balls to put up the money.”"

Contrary to what some fans may think, this doesn’t mean that the actor is going to disappear from the scene all together and just hang out at his home in Oregon. That’s not the case. In fact, it is exactly the opposite.

Contestant Number 1, Come on Down!

Since the splatstick series ended four months ago, Campbell has been keeping himself busy with convention appearances and lining up Last Fan Standing tour dates. As he stated in the Dallas Observer back in February,

"“All through the ’60s, I wanted to be a game show host. It’s the perfect job. You get to wear silly outfits, and it’s great to be Wink Martindale. There’s no blood, no stunts — just cracking jokes, visiting with people and making fun of their home state and small town, and that’s what it’s all about.”"

Can Bruce imagine doing LFS on a grander scale? The answer is yes! The actor told Abby Fagan,

"“Well, one day we will pitch it as a TV show. You can shoot five of them a day. It’s a very easy format, a very inexpensive show. So, yeah! We’ve done it live probably thirty times now so we know that it works. We know the format is sound.”"

Drew Carey has proven that you can make the transition from series television to game show host successfully. After seeing Campbell in action, he could very easily make LFS a staple on the Game Show Network. Check out his skills in the following clip:

It’s All About the Writing

When Bruce was doing his 2017 book tour, he made no secret of his passion for writing. In my interview with him in September of last year, he shared his free form process and how he generates story ideas.

Currently, his sole focus is on being a scribe. According to Bruce on the Loose,

"“I’m doing a lot of writing. For all of the bluster and the blah-blah-blah, you have to have material in order to make anything. If you don’t have material, you don’t have a book, you don’t have a script, you don’t have a movie. So, really, it’s about writing. That’s what I’m doing.”"

He is definitely interested in creating “homegrown” projects. When he knew that Burn Notice was ending five years ago, he started developing screenplays. Now that Ash vs Evil Dead has run its course, he can devote all of his energy to getting those works off the ground.

According to Horror Fuel, the actor is working on a deal with his publisher. “I’m going to tour and hopefully do twenty cities in 2020 for the new book.”

Act Three Begins

As much as fans don’t want to hear this, the saga of Ash Williams has run its course. Look at his stellar performance in season 3 and you can see he left everything on the table. He poured his heart and soul into that character.

Now, it is time for him to close that chapter in his life and create another story. It is up to him to write his own ending.

Until then, you can catch Bruce on Lodge 49 as Gary “Captain” Green. His three-episode arc begins on September 17 at 10 p.m. In the meantime, you can watch all of the episodes on AMC Premiere.

If you want to stay up to date with Campbell you can check his news and events pages on his website at bruce-campbell.com, on Twitter @GroovyBruce, Facebook and shemp­_malone on Instagram.

Many thanks to Abby Fagan from Bruce on the Loose podcast for providing us with the interview.

Are you looking forward to the next chapter in Bruce Campbell’s career? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. We want to hear from you.