Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright had an email subject line and a dream. “Scott Pilgrim… to be continued?” he wrote to the 2010 live-action film cast. Within a few hours, everyone replied with a resounding yes. On Nov. 17, fans new and old will finally see the entire cast reprise their roles in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, a new anime series adapted from both Wright’s film and Bryan Lee O’Malley’s hit comics.
“One of the most beautiful aspects of making Scott Pilgrim is, some 14 years since we made the film, we are all still friends and see each other whenever we can,” Wright told Netflix. Since then, the film has amassed a loyal cult following, and its stars have gone on to become superheroes, Hollywood obsessions, and Oscar winners. Despite their massive success, everyone still stays in touch through the same email chain dating back to 2010. “Hearing the actors play their parts again was emotional, heartwarming, and hilarious,” added Wright. “We’re giving them an opportunity to revisit something that meant a lot to them, but they also are bringing their years of experience, their perspective on these characters, and it leads to awesome stuff.”
For O’Malley, serving as executive producer of the anime series alongside BenDavid Grabinski helped him get back into the swing of things. “I’m the smallest fan of Scott Pilgrim, whereas BenDavid’s the biggest fan,” he shared. Grabinski admits to waiting in line at midnight to get O’Malley’s books long before they ever became friends. He even has a Scott Pilgrim poster on his wall that O’Malley signed in 2008. “I think that when you combine my weird fan brain with Bryan’s brain, which created this entire universe, it’s as close as you can get to bulletproof,” Grabinski said.
All three creatives wanted to keep the same spirit of the film and comics, while also making the anime series accessible to new fans. “Bryan is able to revisit the material with BenDavid in a way that reflects how he has changed — and maybe Scott has changed, too. But the joy of the show is that it gives the floor to the rest of the amazing cast of characters beyond Scott,” Wright said.
While most of the cast recorded their dialogue individually and in different cities around the world, they could always count on Wright to be there (via Zoom from London) at the beginning of their sessions and to text them to see if they needed anything throughout the process. “Usually, I would come on at the start and then just listen to it in the background, which was a very calming thing to do,” Wright tells Tudum. “I was a very protective papa to the cast.”
Keep scrolling to see all the stars returning for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, plus the extra-special guest voice stars who you might recognize.
Scott Pilgrim is a slacker from Toronto who shares a bed with his gay roommate and plays bass in an indie band called Sex Bob-omb. He’s a happy-go-lucky guy who also happens to be the best fighter in the province.
“We really appreciated Michael Cera’s enthusiasm for this new take on the story. He thought our ideas and our scripts were even funnier than we did,” Grabinski told Netflix. After every recording session, Cera texted O’Malley about how much he loved the new show. “Once Michael read it, he became a cheerleader for the rest of the cast. I think his enthusiasm went a long way for us,” said O’Malley.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Barbie, Juno, Year One, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Sausage Party, Knocked Up, The Lego Batman Movie
Ramona Flowers is the girl of, or from, Scott’s dreams. She’s just moved to Toronto from New York City after a bad breakup. All she wants is to move on, but her seven evil exes won’t let her…
Winstead felt like “something was coming” after the cast of the original film did a read-through of the script during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. “Something clicked in a way that was so special that it felt like, ‘We’ve got to do something from here. We can’t just leave this,” she tells Tudum.
So when Wright’s email came through about getting the gang back together, it didn’t take “more than a few hours” for everyone to respond and say a variation of, “Yes! This is what we need to do!” Winstead thinks that’s all due to how much the experience making the film had an impact on the cast. “There’s so much love between everyone involved and we respect each other as performers and people,” she says. “So it’s an honor to get alongside each other again and have a good time.”
Final Destination 3, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Ahsoka, Birds of Prey, Sky High, Gemini Man, The Thing, Death Proof, Fargo
Matthew Patel dated Ramona for a week and a half in middle school. He’s the lowest-ranked evil ex, but his mystical powers might prove to be more of a threat than Scott expected.
“Really, still?” joked Bhaba about his first reaction to Wright’s email. “But honestly, it felt perfect. It’s like, ‘Duh.’ ” Bhabha sees combining anime and Japanese culture with Scott Pilgrim as making perfect sense, especially since it’s always been a massive influence of O’Malley’s. “And the fans for this just don’t die!”
Reveling in the cheesiness, Bhabha believes he made friends for life while making the original film, which was also his first movie. “I always say there were no grownups on this movie. It was all kids. We were all young and it was all kind of early [in our careers] for us,” he said. “Getting to have that time and play in that space together really founded a lot of formative relationships in my life.”
If he were to have his own emo band like Sex Bob-omb, he’d name it “Dick Punch.” And even if 2010 fashion is resurfacing, Bhabha thinks trousers that are too short can stay back in the past. “A lot of men’s suits ended in the middle of your leg. Not into it.” While he can’t remember the name of the last DVD he rented from Netflix, Bhabha does know that “it hung out in the house for many, many more years than it needed to,” he said. “I don’t think it got sent back.” Sh!
New Girl, Midnight’s Children, Miss India America, Dude, Change in the Air, Eastsiders, New Girl
Wallace Wells is Scott’s cool gay roommate. He’s a smartass and a notorious gossip who always has the latest information.
Succession, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Father of the Bride, Igby Goes Down, The Mighty, She’s All That, Fargo
Lucas Lee dated Ramona in high school (the second evil ex). He was a skater boy, but now he’s a world-famous Hollywood actor whose new movie is shooting right here in Toronto.
Captain America, The Avengers, Ghosted, Gifted, Knives Out, Fantastic Four
Stacey Pilgrim is Scott’s younger sister, but she’s smarter and more mature than him. She works at the local coffee shop with Julie and loves to share gossip with Wallace.
Trolls, A Simple Favor, The Accountant, Alice Darling, Up in the Air, Into the Woods, 50/50
Envy Adams is Scott’s ex-girlfriend who went on to become a famous rock star with her band The Clash at Demonhead. She’s now dating Todd Ingram, the bass player, who also happens to be one of Ramona’s exes.
Captain Marvel, The Marvels, Room, Fast X, 21 Jump Street, The Avengers, The Spectacular Now, Don Jon, 13 Going on 30, Hoot
Kim Pine is the drummer in Sex Bob-omb. She went to high school with Scott and briefly dated him, much to her embarrassment. She works at the local video store.
Goon, Cooties, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Star Trek: Picard, The Newsroom, Miss Sloane, Them, Dan in Real Life
Julie Powers knows everyone in town and is the first to befriend Ramona. She’s Stephen’s ex, works in the coffee shop with Stacey, and swears like a sailor. She’s not a fan of Scott and doesn’t understand why Ramona would want to date him.
Parks and Recreation, The White Lotus, The To Do List, Child’s Play, Ingrid Goes West, The Little Hours, Life After Beth, Funny People
Todd Ingram dated Ramona in high school and is now her third evil ex. He plays bass in famous rock band The Clash at Demonhead and is dating the lead singer, Envy Adams. His vegan diet and vegan powers simply make him better than most people.
Superman Returns, Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Rookie, Arrow
Gideon Graves is Ramona’s seventh and most recent evil ex, and the leader of the League of Evil Exes. He’s the CEO of New York City–based G-Man Media and commands incredible resources in his mission to get Ramona back.
During recording sessions for the series, Grabinski appreciated how Schwartzman could never record the same fight sound twice — no matter how specific it got. “I’m like, ‘You’re holding two swords about your head and you’re swinging them to the left and you also sound like you’re in pain.’ And he found some way to make it exciting and funny at all times. So God bless him.”
Asteroid City, Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Marie-Antoinette, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom
Young Neil is Stephen Stills’ roommate and Sex Bob-omb’s No. 1 fan. He’s young and a bit sheltered, but also an idiot.
Jennifer’s Body, The Late Bloomer, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The To Do List, Evan Almighty, Hotel for Dogs, Whiplash, Transpecos, 21 Jump Street, The Greatest, The Phenom
Stephen Stills is the guitarist, songwriter, and lead vocalist in Sex Bob-omb. Despite his talents, he’s plagued by anxiety and stage fright and relies on his friends for support. He used to date Julie Powers.
The End of Love, 13 Sins, Explicit Ills, Not for Nothing, L.A. Confidential, SMILF, Inheritance, The Green Room, Jessabelle
Roxie Richter was Ramona’s college roommate — and more! Half-ninja, with incredible fighting abilities, she’s now Ramona’s fourth evil ex and the only female member of the League of Evil Exes.
The DUFF, Tinker Bell, Parenthood, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Up Here, Independence Day
Knives Chau has recently begun dating Scott, although “dating” may be a strong word — they haven’t even held hands yet. She’s Scott’s biggest fan and Sex Bob-omb’s second-biggest fan.
Wong just thought Wright’s email was a fun check-in at first, since the cast would get group emails from him every now and again. “But it was a long email, so I was like, ‘What’s all this info?” she said. “There were rumors about this happening over the years, and it just felt very official. I was so stoked.”
She looks back fondly on the “teenage angst” feeling of making the original film. “It was my first movie, so it was a big, nerve-wracking experience,” she said. “I just felt so happy and grateful to be part of a family.” Coming back for the anime series, Wong remembered those nerves, but it was a different experience “becase I know everybody and we love each other and it just felt so fun.”
If Knives were to have her own Sex Bob-omb band, she’d call it Knifey Lite. And as for 2010 fashion making a comeback, Wong has “always been into baggy jeans.” Don’t tell Ramona, but Wong has never rented a DVD from Netflix. “Do people still buy DVDs?” Wong asked. Her first foray into Netflix was “when Orange Is the New Black was the thing, and when that started off, I went right into the streaming.”
Best Sellers, The Void, The Carrie Diaries, Silent Night, The Christmas Setup, Good Boy, In the Life of Music
Ken and Kyle Katayanagi are identical Japanese twins and genius roboticists whom Ramona dated in college. They’re now her fifth and sixth evil exes.
Maki, Only Murders in the Building, High School Lover, Dominant Species, Homebody, The Tick, Gypsy
As if it weren’t enough to get the entire original cast onboard, the email chain is expanding with a deep roster of extra-special guest stars. Throwing a spoiler alert here in case you want to be surprised by these familiar voices.
Ventakish is a lawyer who appears in Episode 2 after Matthew Patel and Gideon Graves duke it out on the skyscraper roof. As Gideon hangs from the roof by his fingertips in the soaking rain, Ventakish reveals that the result of the fight is legally binding and Gideon must sign over his belongings to Matthew.
Harold & Kumar, The Namesake, How I Met Your Mother, House, Sunnyside, Kal Penn Approves This Message
L-R: Finn Wolfard, Alison Pill as Kim Pine and Finn Wolfhard as Teenage Scott Pilgrim in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Season 1
During a flashback scene in Episode 3, we see how teenage Scott and Kim’s relationship began in Catholic school in the most romantic way — drawing sheep on paper together.
It, It Chapter Two, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Night Shifts, Hell of a Summer
Things get meta in Episode 3 when Kirby voices an actor in a show within a movie… as well as Lucas Lee’s agent!
Downward Dog, Killing Eve, Why Women Kill, Barry, The Good Place, Love
L-R: Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as Security Guards in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Season 1
In Episodes 4 and 8, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg star as security guards on the set of the Scott Pilgrim film being made. The security guards are actually Frost and Pegg’s characters from Hot Fuzz, which was also directed by Wright.
Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Spaced, Attack the Block, Paul
Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Paul, Dr. Who, Star Trek, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mission: Impossible series, Ice Age series
L-R: Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, Matt Rodgers and Bowen Yan as TV Gossip Announcers in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Season 1
As Ramona pays Lucas Lee a visit in his trailer in Episode 4, the celebrity gossip show ZMZ Live is playing on TV. The two hosts of the show are voiced by none other than Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, who announce that Lucas Lee is dating the actor playing Knives Chau.
SNL, Girls5Eva, Ziwe, The Other Two, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Fire Island, Bros
Shrill, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, Search Party, I Love That for You, Fire Island,
Episode 5 begins as a documentary featurette on the making of the Scott Pilgrim film. A title card appears on-screen narrated by Al Yankovic, who tells viewers about how the making of the film became a nightmare.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, UHF, Comedy Bang! Bang!
It’s revealed in Episode 7 that the person behind Scott's disappearance is… himself. Forte voices Older Scott Pilgrim, who’s now 37 years old and separated from Ramona. He tells his present day self that the reason he traveled back in time was to spare his younger self from the heartbreak.
SNL, MacGruber, The Last Man on Earth, Nebraska, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is streaming now on Netflix.
Additional reporting by Tara Bitran.
