'Evil Dead' continues as new Starz series in 2015

Hail to the king, baby.

The brain trust behind the cult horror franchise The Evil Dead — director Sam Raimi, producer Rob Tapert and star Bruce Campbell — are continuing their story with the new Starz original series Ash Vs. Evil Dead, premiering next year. Raimi will direct the first episode.

Campbell reprises his role as Ash Williams, the former stock boy turned cocky monster hunter with a chainsaw for a hand. The series, comprised of 10 half-hour episodes, pits him against his old enemies, the demonic deadites, and puts him yet again in a place to save the world.

"Evil Dead has always been a blast," Raimi said in a statement. "Bruce, Rob and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to tell the next chapter in Ash's lame but heroic saga.

"With his chainsaw arm and his 'boomstick,' Ash is back to kick some monster butt. And brother, this time there's a truckload of it."

Campbell added that it has everything Evil Dead fans want: "serious deadite ass-kicking and plenty of outrageous humor."

The original 1981 Evil Dead movie, written and directed by Raimi, introduced the character in a cabin-in-the-woods scenario, and the series continued in Evil Dead II in 1987 and Army of Darkness in 1992. Ash has appeared in various comic books and video games over the years as well, while a female-centric Evil Dead reboot hit theaters last year. (Campbell appeared as Ash in shadow in an end-credits sequence.)

In 2013, Campbell told USA TODAY that Raimi and his brother Ivan were in the process of writing the next chapter of the series and that the actor was keen to sign on since his stint on USA's Burn Notice was ending. "Maybe I'll put my walker down and strap on a chainsaw one more time."