Key Highlights:
- Bruce Campbell said he was not interested in lending Ash Williams to other video games.
- The comments followed years of rumours connecting the Evil Dead character with Mortal Kombat.
- Ash Williams was ultimately absent from Mortal Kombat 1 and its announced guest-fighter line-ups.
Bruce Campbell cast doubt on Ash Williams appearing in Mortal Kombat 1 by saying he did not want the Evil Dead protagonist included in other franchises’ video games.
The actor made the comments during an A.V. Club interview published on 19 April 2023. Campbell was asked whether he would support Ash joining the next Mortal Kombat game after the character’s heavily rumoured but unrealised connection to Mortal Kombat 11.
“No, I don’t want Ash to appear in other people’s games,” Campbell said.
Campbell instead proposed bringing outside horror characters into an Evil Dead game, where players could control fighters such as Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees and battle Ash Williams.
He summarised his position by saying:
“They need to come to our house.”
The response suggested that Campbell personally opposed lending Ash Williams to Mortal Kombat. However, it was not an official roster announcement from NetherRealm Studios or Warner Bros. Games.
Campbell is closely associated with Ash and has portrayed or voiced the character across films, television and video games. Licensing decisions can nevertheless involve the character’s rights holders, publishers and other commercial partners rather than the actor alone.
The Mortal Kombat speculation stretched back to 2019. Ash Williams was reportedly found among Mortal Kombat 11 data, while a chainsaw sound heard at the end of Shang Tsung’s reveal trailer created further expectations that the character would join the game as downloadable content.
Campbell also issued conflicting or playful social media responses during that period. Ash ultimately never became a playable Mortal Kombat 11 fighter, leaving fans to wonder whether NetherRealm might revisit the crossover in its next game.
Those questions resurfaced in April 2023 as speculation surrounding NetherRealm’s unannounced project intensified. Ed Boon had posted several cryptic teasers, while Windows Central journalist Jez Corden suggested that more information would arrive in May.
Campbell’s comments arrived before the game had officially been revealed as Mortal Kombat 1. His position weakened the Ash Williams rumours, although it did not amount to definitive confirmation that the character had been excluded.
Warner Bros. Games announced Mortal Kombat 1 on 18 May 2023. Subsequent leaks and announcements instead connected the game with guest fighters such as Homelander, Peacemaker and Omni-Man.
The game also featured Jean-Claude Van Damme through an alternate Johnny Cage skin rather than as a separate playable character.
Ash Williams was ultimately absent from Mortal Kombat 1’s launch roster and its announced Kombat Packs. Campbell’s April 2023 comments therefore anticipated the eventual outcome, even though he was expressing his preference rather than formally revealing NetherRealm’s plans.
