‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’ anime punching its way to Netflix

Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are returning with the rest of the original cast of ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’ to voice their characters in an anime series adaptation of the 2010 action comedy.

The Edgar Wright-directed film, that has already been turned into a video game, is getting the animated reboot thanks to Netflix, which has announced the remake is on the way.

Based on the hugely popular Bryan Lee O’Malley-created graphic novel series, the first volume of which was published in 2004, the film focuses on the eponymous hero, played by Cera, as he pursues a relationship with delivery woman Ramona Flowers (Winstead) and attempts to defeat her seven evil exes.

Netflix said on Thursday (30.03.23): “Scott Pilgrim has already been through so much, but he’s about to take on the world again.

“The gangly bass player was first introduced in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s hit comic series, and was later played by Michael Cera in Edgar Wright’s 2010 cult favourite ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’.

“Now he, Ramona Flowers and her Seven Evil Exes are coming to Netflix – in anime form.”

The new series from anime house Science SARU has been written and executive produced by O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski.

Wright, who also serves as an executive producer on the new series, told Tudum: “Luckily, the Scott Pilgrim cast became a close-knit family and friendships were forged for life.

“There – to this day – is still a group email with the entire cast on it, that’s been going since 2010.

“I was happy to be able to reach out to everyone with the news that we had finally come up with a way to continue the adventure. Seeing (and hearing) everyone come back to their roles has been a true pleasure.”

He added about how the Scott Pilgrim adventure is continuing: “Over the years fans had asked if there would be a sequel to the film or some other kind of continuation.

“I knew that a live action sequel was unlikely, but I would usually defer by suggesting that perhaps an anime adaptation was an interesting way to go.

“And then, lo and behold, one day Netflix got in touch to ask about this exact idea.

“But even better, our brilliant creator Bryan Lee O’Malley had an idea that was way more adventurous than just a straight adaptation of the original books.”

Returning are Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells, Anna Kendrick (Stacey Pilgrim), Brie Larson (Envy Adams), Alison Pill (Kim Pine), Aubrey Plaza (Julie Powers), Johnny Simmons (young Neil), Mark Webber (Stephen Stills), Ellen Wong (Knives Chau.)

Coming back as the evil exes are Jason Schwartzman (Gideon Graves), Brandon Routh (Todd Ingram), Shota and Keita Saito (Ken and Kyle Katanyagi), Mae Whitman (Roxy Richter), Satya Bhabha (Matthew Patel) and Chris Evans (Lucas Lee.)

Graphic novel creator O’Malley said: “Everyone is putting their heart and soul into this thing and we’re having the most fun making it.

“It’s hilarious. It’s emotional. It’s visually stunning. The action scenes will blow your mind. And there might be a few surprises along the way.”

The movie, which also featured musical input from figures such as Beck and Nigel Godrich, was met with a positive critical reception upon its debut, and even though it failed to break even at the box office during its release it built a cult following.