Evil Dead remake gets a male lead

Despite leading lady Lily Collins having dropped out over scheduling issues, the casting process for the Evil Dead reboot continues apace, with a new name having been added to the project. However, this is no replacement for Collins, but rather a new leading man…

Shiloh Fernandez is the latest name on the cast sheet, and will take the role that Variety describes as the “male lead”. If you don’t recognise the name, Fernandez is best known for having played Peter in last year’s Red Riding Hood .

If he’s going to be the leading man, does that mean he’ll be taking on the Bruce Campbell role? Well, character details are slim at present, but there could be room for the cowardly incarnation seen in the original film.

The story focuses upon a group of five youngsters, who take a trip to a secluded cabin when one of their number (the character earmarked for Lily Collins) decides she needs some time out to recover from a drug problem.

The two male roles on offer are David and Eric. The first is a mechanic who’s engaged to one of the girls in the group, whilst the second is thought to be the one who triggers the Necronomicon’s terrible powers. We reckon Fernandez is in line for the latter…

Directed by Fede Alvarez from a script co-written by Diablo Cody, The Evil Dead will open in US cinemas on 12 April 2013, with a UK date yet to be confirmed. We hope one of those kids thought to bring a boomstick with them…

George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.