Bruce Campbell can be spotted in Evil Dead Rise, director Lee Cronin teases, even as the series’ actor states he has retired from playing fan-favourite hero Ash Williams in live-action.

Speaking with Empire, Cronin promises that the franchise veteran is “hidden in the movie somewhere”, just not as his original Deadite-slaying character – and not only that, he’s issued a challenge: “Bruce is hidden in the movie somewhere. Bruce has a small presence in the movie. The first person to figure it out and send me a tweet, I’ll give them 50 bucks.” Campbell last appeared in a small post-credits cameo in 2013’s Evil Dead.

He also explained the reasoning behind introducing a new cast of characters to the movies, stating he “felt like in order to move the franchise somewhere new and to unlock the potential of the universe to tell more stories, it needed to break free [of Ash].” The new cast includes Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, Nell Fisher, Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan.

“In the fifth Evil Dead film, a road-weary Beth pays an overdue visit to her older sister Ellie, who is raising three kids on her own in a cramped L.A apartment,” reads the synopsis. “The sisters’ reunion is cut short by the discovery of a mysterious book deep in the bowels of Ellie’s building, giving rise to flesh-possessing demons, and thrusting Beth into a primal battle for survival as she is faced with the most nightmarish version of motherhood imaginable.”

Evil Dead Rise releases in cinemas on April 21st, so keep a lookout for Bruce Campbell.