The Big Picture
- Reuniting the original cast of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World for the upcoming anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was a challenge, as the creators doubted anyone would say yes.
- Having the original cast back adds to the excitement for fans and gives an idea of what to expect from the show, even though it won’t be a retelling of the movie.
- Fans can expect great visuals, as the anime series is being produced by Science Saru, known for their work on Star Wars: Visions. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off premieres on Netflix on November 17.
After Scott Pilgrim vs. The World became a cult modern-classic in 2010, you’d think that everyone involved in the production would show no hesitation to come back if the opportunity presented itself. But that’s not what went through comic book author Bryan Lee O’Malley‘s head as Netflix said yes to the upcoming anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. O’Malley and his co-showrunner and co-executive producer BenDavid Grabinski wanted to bring the whole original cast back to voice their characters, but they had a hard time believing anyone would say yes.
In an interview to Entertainment Weekly, Grabinski and O’Malley reveal that impostor syndrome hit when they considered that, even though Scott Pilgrim cultivated a loyal fanbase, the movie was far from a huge box office hit – it grossed a little over $30 million. And that was before stars like Chris Evans, Brie Larson and Kieran Culkin became household names within the Marvel universe and hit series Succession. Grabinski revealed that they worked for a whole year before they braced themselves and “dared” to ask everyone to come back:
“We started the show before we had reached out to them. I can’t explain to you the process of Bryan and I sitting in rooms for a year or so saying, ’Well, I hope they’re going to say yes!’ […] I remember sitting in Bryan’s office when we started to see the emails of people saying that they were interested. I literally screamed. That was the first point where we felt like, okay, this could be a cool show.”
Why The Returning Cast Is Important For ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’
In all fairness, having the whole cast back for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off certainly makes the adventure a lot more interesting for fans, since that way the anime series will sound familiar at the very least. At the same time, by knowing that the cast is reprising their roles we can have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the show. The story will once again center around Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), but it won’t be a retelling of the original movie. All of Ramona Flowers’ (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) seven evil exes will be back, though, so we’ll have to see what O’Malley and producer Edgar Wright (who directed the movie) have come up with this time.
It’s also important to remember that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will look great: Japanese animation studio Science Saru, which was responsible for making Star Wars: Visions episodes, were the ones that handled the episodes from the Netflix series, so Scott Pilgrim fans have every reason to get hyped up.
Netflix premieres Scott Pilgrim Takes Off on November 17.
You can watch the trailer below:
