If you read the headline and asked, "Who the hell is she," don't feel bad. That was my initial reaction as well.
Well, thanks to the Internet, I can now say that Lily Collins is an actress, as she's been in a few movies that I haven't seen.
She was Sandra Bullock's daughter in The Blind Side, appeared in Priest and Abduction (which I believe very few people saw as well) and has the role of Snow White in Mirror Mirror (the one with Julia Roberts). She was in a couple of episodes of the new 90210. Aside from two other movies in various stages of production, that's about it.
Bloody Disgusting broke the news and now the web is abuzz with the casting of the "new Ash." So, before anyone gets their underwear wadded up, calm down and remember a few things.
First, her character's name is Mia, NOT ASH. As stated by several people involved with the production, Ash will not be a character in the film, a rather wise decision as no one could ever replace Bruce Campbell. Mia is a recovering drug addict and the first person to notice the demons lurking around the cabin. She's not playing the action hero that Ash morphed into during the second and third films, but a strung-out junkie who no one believes when she tells her friends of the evil surrounding the cabin. Or she might be the first one possessed, depending on where you read the plot summary. Regardless, this character is not Ash in any way, shape or form, so let that rumor/hype die.
Second, anyone actually remember Campbell's acting in the original Evil Dead ? Let's just say he improved between the first and second films (to put it kindly). Instead of playing it straight, Campbell played to his strength, morphing into a campy, over-the-top, wise-ass hero. I'm not trying to rag on Campbell, as I really enjoy most of his movies and truly believe he deserved an Oscar nomination for Bubba Ho-Tep. I'm just saying his skills as an actor grew quite a bit between the first two films and the role of Ash became a second skin for him, which he falls back into with ease (much like Jack Nicholson and his persona).
One final point. When most people talk about the Evil Dead films and Ash, 
they're often thinking of the second film only, with mere bits and pieces of the first film lodged in their heads. Everyone seems to forget the shabby acting and how Ash was unable to untangle himself from a bookcase. Hell, Ash didn't start killing Deadites until the final act of the film. Scotty scored the first kill, pushing Ash out of the way and whacking up Shelly with an axe. It wasn't until the second film that Ash became the Deadite exterminator and character we all love.
Speaking of which, it would be interesting to see if the new film ends like the old one, giving us the chance to see a different take on the hero of the Evil Dead films. Yeah, no one will replace Campbell in the film, but who wouldn't want to see some hot gal, victimized throughout the first movie, take on the Deadites in the second. Hey, the hot version of Ash is in the works, at least in comic book form.
So give Collins a chance, folks. She's doing something right if she snagged a role opposite Julia Roberts. And it's obvious the remake isn't trying to imitate the original films. So complain all you want about reboots and remakes, but let's see what Collins can bring to the role. I'm not saying the film won't suck, but let's not hang all the blame on the actress "replacing" Ash, as that's not the case.
That MIRROR MIRROR looks so unspeakably bad I think this lass needs to book as many jobs as she can before it comes out.