The new trailer for Evil Dead Burn has officially hinted that a major 45-year-old rule for the franchise is about to be broken. The latest installment in the hit *Evil Dead *franchise has become one of the most anticipated films of 2026. Not only has early word about the film from CinemaCon been positive, but it’s releasing the same year as the 45th anniversary of the original film.
Now, the first main trailer for the film has dropped, and it’s surpassing the expectations fans have been holding for months. This first look doesn’t hold back as the infamous Deadites find themselves crashing a family reunion following the death of a woman’s husband. There’s blood, gore, violence, and above all, lots of posessed action.
This new Evil Dead film is already looking to be one of the series’ best, as it merges everything that has worked for the franchise these past 45 years into one epic horror film. However, there’s one small detail that’s sure to get fans excited for when the movie releases in July.
In a montage of the film’s more visceral moments, there’s one shot that features a dog leaping at the film’s heroine, Alice. Given the amount of fire in the background, it’s clear that this moment will happen sometime during the third act. However, what makes this exciting is that this ultimately hints at the franchise’s very first animal possession on the big screen.
After 45 years and five films, the Evil Dead movies have never truly shown a Deadite taking control of any living creature other than a human. They’ve certainly possessed inanimate objects, but never the body of anything beyond people. The closest the films have ever gotten has been in the franchise’s best sequel, Evil Dead II, when a mounted deer head begins to laugh at Ash, but they’ve never gone further than that.
If it does turn out that the dog attacking Alice is possessed, this will be a major moment for the franchise. Each movie has always found a way to push familiar boundaries to surprise audiences. However, this could be the biggest leap of them all since it will confirm that Deadites can control any living or dead thing they please. They may prefer human hosts, but anything is truly possible for them.
While this will be the first time the Evil Dead movies have featured animal possession, the hit TV series Ash vs. Evil Dead actually showed that Deadites could take over other living bodies. One episode in particular, titled “Ashes to Ashes” in season two, features a possessed bird, which Ash promptly kills by hitting it against a tree.
What this proves is that it was always possible for animals to be possessed in the Evil Dead universe. However, none of the movies have truly acted on this until now. Once Evil Dead Burn releases this summer, it will be a major step forward for the franchise. Nothing will be safe from the Deadites ever again, and with Evil Dead Wrath already confirmed, it will be interesting to see how the next movie will expand on this rule-breaking film.
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Sébastien Vanicek
Florent Bernard, Sébastien Vanicek, Sam Raimi