Ash vs Evil Dead: Was Kelly supposed to be Ash’s daughter?

Dana DeLorenzo and Bruce Campbell stick a fork in the rumors that Kelly was originally supposed to be Ash's daughter in Season 3.

Say, remember 900 years ago when Ash vs Evil Dead’s second season ended on a strangely goofy note? We wish we didn’t.

Here’s another question for you lunkheads: do you also happen to remember the whole controversy that came out soon afterward, where ex-showrunner Craig DeGregorio leaked to the press that his original game-plan was to reveal that Ash was Kelly’s father because of, er – something, something – time travel?

We most definitely do.

That’s why when details about the third season of Ash vs Evil Dead, which revolves around Ash discovering he has an illegitimate daughter named Brandy Barr (played by Arielle Carver O’Neill) who goes to high school in Elk Grove, were released, we stopped and said to ourselves, “Selves, this sounds just a little familiar, don’t it?”

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Well, we were right. This storyline does indeed sound like an alternate take on the whole DeGregorio daddy/daughter debacle. That’s why we made it a point to ask the cast and crew if there’s a connection there when we had a chance. And you know what? They actually provided answers.

Let’s start with the actor who plays Kelly herself, the legendary Dana DeLorenzo. What’s her take on this convoluted plot twist that could have been?

How it was presented to me was that it was mostly a springboard for season three. As you know, we were back in time, and the whole joke was supposed to be Ash going back, having the same conversation at the dinner table with Kelly’s mom when she was a Deadite or suppose to pop out as a Deadite, only that Kelly’s mom is now younger and more flirtier.

But it was mostly just a springboard, from how it was presented, it was never meant to be permanent. It was just a way to go into season three and map their objective to get her out of the depths of hell or whatever. So like I said, I couldn’t be happier with where the journey has gone for Kelly…

And to be honest I trust the producers and Rob and Sam and Bruce implicitly. They have not done wrong by this show or certainly by my character yet. Arielle [Carver O’Neill] is a magnificent addition to this. Let me tell you, there is room enough for another bloody, fun, kick-ass female character. So the more, the better. And I can’t wait for you guys to see where that goes.

Sounds groovy enough, we guess.

Here’s what new showrunner Mark Verheiden had to say about the apparent connection between the Brandy Barr storyline and DeGregorio’s aborted plans to retcon Kelly into being part of Ash’s family tree. 

Y’know what’s funny, I actually didn’t know any of that when I came on the show… No, and I haven’t met Craig. So when I came on the show, my “pitch” (in quotes) really was to introduce a daughter and to give Ash someone that he might have to care about a little more than others in his life – challenge him as a father, a role he never wanted to play.

I found out later that there had been those plans, but no I sort of walked in with that and it just felt like a natural progression to expand Ash’s world a little bit and maybe flesh him out a little bit as a character…

I don’t want to pretend Ash still isn’t a selfish, not the brightest bulb sort of guy in the show, but with Brandy, [she’s] someone he has to figure out…how do you even get along with her and protect her, and where that takes him as a character is something I thought would be really interesting to explore.

Again, without taking away any of the fun of Evil Dead and the madness and the crazy which I think as you saw in the first episode [of Season 3] has not gone away.

Did you hear that? The officially the word is: there is no correlation between DeGregorio’s vision for Season 3 and Verheiden’s version, which is currently airing, even though they both involve Ash having a spontaneous daughter.

But…what does the king himself Bruce Campbell have to say about all this?

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I think that was one of the ideas that was being bandied about. I’m not sure how in stone that ever was, but that was one possibility that is kinda gone now. Ideas come and go.

There you have it, folks. Your questions are laid to rest – and not the kind of rest where they come back to life and try to grab your junk either. ‘Cause, believe us, that kind really sucks.