Why Does The Necronomicon In The Evil Dead Rise Trailer Look So Different?

Longtime fans of Sam Raimi's iconic horror franchise "Evil Dead" will know that essentially every story in the series revolves around a sinister book known as the "Necronomicon Ex-Mortis," most often referred to simply as the Necronomicon. Introduced in 1981's "The Evil Dead," the Necronomicon, or "Book of the Dead," is an ancient Sumerian packed with incantations and demonic rituals, and it has the ability to control and summon the demonic entities known as Deadites.

Since this ancient tome of evil was first unwittingly awakened by a group of college students in "The Evil Dead," the Necronomicon has been at the center of every single film, once even transporting franchise mascot Ashley "Ash" Williams (Bruce Campbell) into the Middle Ages for the comedy horror film "Army of Darkness." The same is true for the upcoming movie "Evil Dead Rise," the trailer for which places a heavy emphasis on the (re?)discovery of the Necronomicon, an event that has devastating effects on a mother and her family.

Although releasing an evil entity from the Necronomicon seems pretty much par for the course as far as the "Evil Dead" universe goes, fans online were quick to notice that something seems off about the appearance of this book, as it looks nothing like the Necronomicons we've seen in past installments of the series.

Fans of the "Evil Dead" franchise will know that the Necronomicon from the original trilogy was crafted out of a material that looked suspiciously like human skin, complete with a grotesque "face" of some kind on the cover and veiny striations all over its binding. The 2013 reboot "Evil Dead" gave the book a makeover, introducing an interwoven cover of stitches that connected its gruesome binding.

The book we see in the trailer for "Evil Dead Rise" does not fit either of these descriptions, as it shows neither any obvious stitches nor (as pointed out by @AloVFX on Twitter) any sort of "face." The book's new cover still retains the grotesque look of being crafted from human skin, but now has distinct, knobbled veins running all across its face, which connect to a strange "mouth" of some sort that connects the book's front and back covers. At one point, we can even see a row of razor-sharp teeth protruding from this mouth, which snap together once the book is slammed shut.

Several fans on Twitter, among them @LeChristopherAG, theorize that the other side of the book will actually have a face in the final film, and its reveal when flipped over will be a major moment in "Evil Dead Rise." In any case, it's clear that one of the most infamous books in all of cinema has undergone a pretty severe makeover for the newest installment in the venerable franchise. "Evil Dead Rise" will begin haunting theaters on April 21, 2023.