Published Jun 26, 2026, 2:37 PM EDT
Jeff Dodge (he/him), a published author and graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena. Fun Fact: he’s been to every single Idol Live! Tour.
While they wait for the next installment in the popular Evil Dead franchise, early July will see a major development in how fans can watch the previous films.
Sam Raimi created the horror franchise in 1983 with the release of The Evil Dead, which he directed and wrote the screenplay. The story centers on a group of college students who inadvertently allow demonic forces to roam free during their cabin vacation. Raimi returned for two sequels in 1987 and 1993, and other filmmakers have continued the series.
Starting July 1, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness and Evil Dead will be available to stream on HBO Max.
Most of these movies, like 1983's The Evil Dead, 1993's Army of Darkness and 2013's Evil Dead, are not available to stream anywhere right now. Evil Dead II, though, is currently streaming on multiple platforms, including Shudder, AMC+, Kanopy, PlutoTV, The Roku Channel and Philo.
That same day, several other films will be added to HBO Max, including Deadpool 2, Goodbye Christopher Robin, Legally Blonde, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Super Troopers 2, The Equalizer trilogy, The Meg and Brendan Fraser's Mummy trilogy. The Long Walk, Ocean's Eight, Pacific Rim: Uprising and The Drama will also join the streamer throughout the month of July.
After Raimi released his Evil Dead trilogy from 1983 to 1993, the franchise lay dormant for two decades until Fede Álvarez revived the series with the reboot film Evil Dead.
It may have received the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score in the entire franchise at 64%, but the movie debuted at the top of the box office on opening weekend and went on to earn $97.5 million, the highest-grossing installment up to that point.
The franchise then expanded beyond the big screen with a TV show on Starz called Ash vs Evil Dead that aired for three seasons and received a nearly perfect RT score of 99%.
Lee Cronin brought Evil Dead back to movie theaters with Evil Dead Rise, which came out in 2023 and is currently streaming on HBO Max. The fifth movie in the franchise remains the most financially successful one to date, with a box office total of $147 million and matching the original film's Rotten Tomatoes score of 85%.
Evil Dead isn't showing any signs of slowing down. After the first four movies arrive on HBO Max, Evil Dead Burn will arrive in theaters on July 10. Sébastien Vaniček is the director and co-wrote the script with Florent Bernard, with Raimi returning as a producer. This will be followed by Francis Galluppi's Evil Dead Wrath in 2028.
Character(s) Ashley Williams, Mia Allen, David Allen, Bethany Bixler, Kassie Bixler, Pablo Simon Bolivar, Kelly Maxwell
Created by Sam Raimi, Evil Dead is a horror-comedy franchise that began with the release of the original film, The Evil Dead, in 1981. The series follows protagonist Ashley "Ash" Williams as he and his friends venture into a cabin for a vacation only to discover it harbors a demonic book that can summon terrifying creatures known as Deadites, hell-bent on torturing and slaying them all. As the series progresses, Ash becomes more of a masculine B-movie action hero until the soft reboot helmed by Eli Roth occurs, which shifts the franchise deeper into its horror roots.
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