Ash vs. Evil Dead may (sadly) be over, but its characters Ash Williams and Kelly Maxwell live on in the mobile shooter game DEPLOY AND DESTROY, a collaboration between Lionsgate and developer / publisher Apps Ministry. A "fast‐paced and competitive action spectacle", the game allows players to compete in deathmatches and tournaments against each other while playing as original DEPLOY AND DESTROY characters, Ash, Kelly, or the characters Tris, Eric, Edward, or Max from the DIVERGENT films.
Lionsgate is planning to add a lot more characters from their film library into the game as time goes on. Speaking with Variety, the studio's Peter Levin said,
We spend a lot of time meeting with talented developers from all over the world who are passionate about our movies and TV shows. Apps Ministry are huge fans of the DIVERGENT series, and that’s where the conversation about DEPLOY AND DESTROY started. As we got into the early stages of development, we realized the design and mechanics in front of us could make for a super fun mashup of fan-favorite IP — imagine John Wick and Rambo fighting in an arena modeled after the cabin from Ash vs. Evil Dead, for instance. If memory serves, this idea popped into our minds during a late-night play session between our team and Apps Ministry. We pivoted directions, developed the concept for a multiverse, and quickly put in place the legal and design infrastructure to do this."
John Wick and Rambo stalking each other around the Evil Dead cabin would be a glorious sight to behold, and Levin wants to pack the game full of thrilling crossover concepts like that.
While our vision is to deliver the ultimate mashup for action fans, our main priority is making sure we find fun characters that match the tone of this world we’ve created. Perhaps the crew from RESERVOIR DOGS could take on a team made up of John Wick, Ash, Rambo, and Barney Ross (from THE EXPENDABLES). The possibilities are endless."
Despite the presence of Ash and Kelly, the May release of DEPLOY AND DESTROY managed to pass under my radar. Now that I hear what's already in it and what's possible for the future, the game has my attention in a major way.