Francis Galluppi to write and direct a new Evil Dead movie

There are two new Evil Dead movies in the works, and The Last Stop in Yuma County’s Francis Galluppi will be writing and directing one

In the build-up to the release of Evil Dead Rise (read our review right HERE) last year, Evil Dead franchise rights holders Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Tapert let it be known that they were already looking forward to producing more entries in the series, with Campbell revealing they were hoping to make a new sequel / spin-off every two or three years. To prove that they’re dedicated to pumping Evil Dead movies out at a fast and furious pace now, Raimi and Taper’s company Ghost House Pictures just announced to Deadline that they have hired Francis Galluppi to write and direct a new Evil Dead movie, even though they just hired Infested director Sébastien Vaniček to start working on his own Evil Dead movie at the start of February!

The hiring of Galluppi might cause some to jump to the conclusion that Vaniček’s take on the concept fell apart, but that’s not the case. Deadline confirmed that Vaniček’s project is still moving forward. His and Galluppi’s contributions to the franchise both just happen to be in the works at the same time. While Raimi reached out to Vaniček to offer him the chance to make an Evil Dead movie, Galluppi developed an Evil Dead pitch on his own and brought it to Raimi and his cohorts – who were so impressed, they hired him to bring his ideas to the screen.

Raimi provided the following statement: “Francis Galluppi is a storyteller who knows when to keep us waiting in simmering tension and when to hit us with explosive violence. He is a director that shows uncommon control in his feature debut.“

Galluppi started out making short films and music videos, and just made his feature directorial debut with the crime thriller The Last Stop In Yuma County, which “follows a traveling salesman who, while stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop, is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty — or cold, hard steel — to protect their bloodstained fortune.” Well Go USA Entertainment will be releasing the film on May 10th.

What do you think of Francis Galluppi being set to write and direct an Evil Dead movie while Sébastien Vaniček is also set to write and direct one? Share your thoughts on this franchise by leaving a comment below.

About the Author

Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he’s a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.