Weird how they decided to change the title.

I would have preferred the working title, The Medieval Dead.

This one got extra goofy and less horror so I kind of don’t mind that it isn’t just called Evil Dead 3. It doesn’t feel like the first two at all.

It’s also pre-supposes that Raimi was somehow able to predict the future.

The Evil Dead was a small, low budget film that became a cult classic, but hardly blew up the box office. When Raimi got the go-ahead to make a sequel, he had no way of knowing it was going to become even more of a cult classic and would lead to a third film in the series. So he simply called the film “Evil Dead 2.” After that became successful enough that he got a third film, Raimi decided that he just didn’t want to call it “Evil Dead III”, so he gave it a different name.

I guess if Raimi ever thought his little low-budget film would become the cult classic it is, he might have had the idea to give the second film a different name at the time, but that would have had Raimi needing the ability to predict the future!

Think that change and marketing was pretty much directed at people just like me. When I was a kid and saw the trailer back in the day, it was the most radical thing I ever saw and I had never heard of the first two. I may not have been in such a hurry to see it if I knew it was the third movie in a low budget horror series.

Should have called "Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness".

Probably the same marketing strategy as Mad Max -> The Road Warrior. i.e. "We want this movie to be a success and make as much money as possible. If we name it as a sequel to a little cult movie, that will limit the audience, limit its success, and limit our profits." They were probably hoping for it to become more mainstream.

what change?

I like the change up and the title "Army of Darkness" fits the film much better considering the drastic change in tone, the more epic adventure scope of the film, and taking itself less seriously. Calling it Evil Dead 3 wouldn't fit, this film was going in a very different direction.

Because of what I read in an interview, I think that Raimi was inspired by the Three Stooges. He could have jokingly called it "Army of The Undead Three Stooges"