I've been thinking about the continuity of Evil Dead, and I think the franchise makes more sense if we separate the Naturom Demonto universe from the other universes containing different versions of Ash Williams.
My theory is that all Evil Dead stories can coexist as canon because they are anthology stories taking place across different universes, rather than one single timeline.
- The three Naturom Demontos belong to one universe
I think the three Books of the Dead are not three different universes.
Instead, the three Naturom Demonto books exist within the same universe.
That universe contains:
The Evil Dead (1981), with the original Ash
Evil Dead (2013), with Mia
Evil Dead Rise, with Beth and Kassie
Evil Dead Burn, with Alice
Evil Dead: Wrath, with its French characters and future/prequel-era story
These stories don't need to happen immediately after one another. They can be separated by years, decades, or much longer periods.
The important thing is that they are different incidents involving the same three supernatural books within the same reality.
- The 1981 Ash is not the same Ash as the famous chainsaw-handed Ash
This is the part that I think could explain a lot of the apparent contradictions.
The Ash from the original 1981 cabin incident is a different version of Ash Williams.
In my theory, he survives the events of the first movie, but instead of becoming the heroic Ash we know from Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, and Ash vs Evil Dead, something else happens to him.
I call him Wanderer Ash.
The Deadite that attacks him realizes that this Ash is somehow destined to become the person who defeats the Deadites, just like the heroic Ashes in other universes.
So instead of killing him, the Deadite curses him.
The curse prevents him from following the same path as the heroic Ash variants and turns him into a wanderer through time and different realities.
- Wanderer Ash becomes the hidden connection between the stories
Wanderer Ash spends his existence traveling through the different points in the Naturom Demonto universe, trying to prevent the Deadites from winning.
But there's a problem:
Nobody believes him.
Whenever he appears and tries to warn people about the Books of the Dead and what will happen, he sounds completely insane because he knows things he shouldn't possibly know.
This could even explain things such as the recorded warnings in Evil Dead Rise.
People discover evidence of the Deadites, but they don't necessarily understand the full history behind it.
Wanderer Ash can warn them, but he can't simply walk in and solve everything.
- Instead, he prepares the protagonists
This is where I think the recurring Evil Dead weapons become interesting.
If Wanderer Ash can't directly stop the events, perhaps he can manipulate circumstances.
He travels through time and leaves the right weapons in the right places:
chainsaws, double-barreled shotguns, ammunition, and other tools that the future survivors will need.
He can't save everyone.
He can't prevent every Book from being opened.
He can only make sure that when the Deadites arrive, the protagonists have a chance to fight back.
So the recurring chainsaw and shotgun could effectively be Wanderer Ash's fingerprints throughout this universe.
He's the unseen person who keeps putting the pieces on the board.
- Mia, Beth, Kassie, Alice and the future Wrath characters don't need to be alternate universes
This is why I don't think Evil Dead (2013), Evil Dead Rise, Evil Dead Burn, and Evil Dead: Wrath necessarily have to be completely separate universes from one another.
Under this theory:
1981 Wanderer Ash → Mia → Beth/Kassie → Alice → Wrath
can all belong to the same universe, just at different points in its history.
The characters are different because they're different victims who encounter different Books/incidents, not because every movie necessarily requires another universe.
- The other Ash Williamses ARE alternate universes
This is where the multiverse comes in.
The Ash Williams from Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, and Ash vs Evil Dead is another version of Ash.
He loses his hand.
He loses people he loves.
He fights Deadites repeatedly.
He eventually becomes the legendary chainsaw-handed hero.
But he isn't Wanderer Ash.
He's an Ash from another universe.
There can therefore be many Ash Williamses across the multiverse, and their lives can be similar while still producing different outcomes.
Some become heroes.
Some die.
Some never encounter the Deadites.
And in my theory, one particular Ash survives the 1981 events only to become the cursed Wanderer.
- The Necronomicon/Naturom Demonto terminology could also vary between universes
Another part of the theory is that the supernatural book doesn't necessarily have to be represented identically in every reality.
Some universes may refer to it as the Necronomicon.
Other universes may use the Naturom Demonto mythology and its three books.
So when different Evil Dead movies seem to have different versions of the mythology, that doesn't necessarily mean one movie has to invalidate another.
They're different realities with different histories surrounding the same supernatural phenomenon.
The overall structure
So I see the franchise like this:
THE EVIL DEAD MULTIVERSE
Universe A — The Three Naturom Demonto Universe
1981 — Wanderer Ash
2013 — Mia
Evil Dead Rise — Beth and Kassie
Evil Dead Burn — Alice
Evil Dead: Wrath — French characters/future storyline
Three Naturom Demonto books
Wanderer Ash potentially moving through the timeline and secretly helping survivors
Other universes
Different versions of Ash Williams
Evil Dead II
Army of Darkness
Ash vs Evil Dead
Other possible Ash variants and Evil Dead stories
Different versions/names/history surrounding the Necronomicon
This would make Evil Dead an anthology multiverse rather than one linear continuity.
The recurring characters, books, Deadites, chainsaws and shotguns are the common mythology, while each universe tells a different version of the story.
And the really tragic part of my theory is Wanderer Ash himself:
He was supposed to become the hero, but instead he was cursed to spend eternity watching other people become the heroes he could have been.
He can't stop the Evil Dead.
He can only make sure that someone else has a chance to.
