What happens when you capture lightning in a bottle a fourth time? It's a big question that Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley wonders as he takes on his next project in this wild and fun universe. Now working alongside superfan and writer/director BenDavid Grabinski, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is bringing back all the familiar characters from the comics and the actors from Edgar Wright's movie adaptation, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, for a brand new adventure. But no, this is not the Scott Pilgrim you're possibly expecting. In fact, that's exactly what they told fans at New York Comic Con 2023. This story is different and they're not just talking about the fact that it's now being animated.
But even with this warning, fans are still excited for more. The packed-to-the-brim Main Stage room was filled with cheers and excitement over what was going to happen next. And since they didn't reveal all the secrets there, we just had to try to get them to tell us some more in our fun one-on-one chat.
Cosmopolitan spoke with Bryan Lee O'Malley and BenDavid Grabinski about bringing Scott Pilgrim Takes Off to life, changing up the story, celebrating a major milestone, and the one thing you need to look for before watching.
Cosmopolitan: First of all, that panel was wild! The crowd reaction was unlike anything I've experienced.
BenDavid Grabinski: Well, I couldn't see or hear anything, so I asked my friends until I saw some bootleg videos from the crowd. We had these lights in our faces and all I was seeing was darkness, bright lights—which I was trying to look down—and, occasionally, I would hear a little laughter. I had the best time ever!
Bryan Lee O'Malley: I mean, I could hear the waves of cheers and stuff for the trailer when each name came up. It was a beautiful moment. I loved it!
BLO: This project was kind of dormant for a long time, so it wasn't really until we began this anime process and started sharing material with the fans that it felt like Scott Pilgrim was kind of back or that it really never left. It's very rewarding to have that full-circle moment and to know that the fans can experience something they have this built-in nostalgia for. It lives somewhere in their hearts. I really love being able to tap into that and knowing that I can make people feel something. It's really exciting.
Watch 'Scott Pilgrim Takes Off' on Netflix
In the panel, you warned fans that this is going to be a different version. As someone who got to watch the series without that warning, I actually enjoyed going in pretty blindly. Why was it important for you to share that with them?
BLO: Thee reason I wanted to start warning people early, it's just because I don't want them to die of a heart attack. One of my concerns going into this is if I'm just kind of cosplaying myself or playing the same notes I played before. That's boring to me and that'll be boring to the viewer. So I just wanted to find new ways to surprise myself. And that's really when BenDavid came in as a co-writer and partner in crime on this.
BDG: The only thing that matters to me is that I just don't want there to be a misunderstanding that this is now the attempt to do the even more faithful version of the books, which is an assumption that I understand people would have. But I thought the least we could do is let people know that this isn't. It's not like Bryan finally had the opportunity to do a word-for-word shot-for-shot psycho remake of his books. Which was never our intention and we don't think is a good idea. But we can I completely understand why someone would expect that since Bryan is doing the show.
BLO: That's the culture we live in. This is not Taylor's Version. It's the fourth version of Scott Pilgrim. It can be different in its own way.
You're getting to jump into this world for the first time, BenDavid. How is it being able to be a part of this project, especially being a big fan yourself?
BDG: I just feel really lucky. I feel lucky for two reasons. One, that the idea I have for this show was embraced by Bryan because that makes my life so much easier. But then I also just feel lucky because Byran is one of my best friends. He's a really fun person to hang out with and talk about creative stuff. And now we have our names on a thing that we made together.
But as a fan, I sometimes don't even want to make things based on stuff that I'm a fan of, because it can end up being the most painful. I've been hired to make movies based on things that I really love and then they blow up in my face. The reason why this was fun is because I was doing it with Bryan and because Edgar Wright, the director of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, trusted Bryan. It was like a really safe team. Edgar really believes in Bryan's vision and Bryan really loved my approach to the show, so it was just kind of a very protected way to be creative.
Netflix
The animation company that you're working with, Science Saru, is huge. But you also mentioned that you gave them a lot of freedom when working on it. Was there anything you tried to let them know ahead of time?
BDG: Instead of pushing anything stylistic on them, we instead would just send a lot of references for things. A lot of them would be live-action or some mood ideas because what we didn't want to do was try to dictate what the aesthetic of the show was. Like we might have a big vault door and then we're like, Hey, we really liked this vault door from Akira. But we're not saying that the art style has to be the same or the colors have to be the same.
The thing that was really exciting was that if we focused on things that mattered narratively, or emotionally, or comedically, they would always surprise us and just do things that were so much cooler than we were hoping. They really respected our approach to the script and the structure of the season and what we're doing with the music. I wanted something that felt a little nostalgic, but also something that felt like Byran's art and I thought they hit a really big bullseye.
BLO: I didn't tell them how to draw the characters. I didn't tell them to put film grain on it or to make the lines look kind of like rough. They just did all that. And each iteration that came in, we would just be like, Oh my God, it looks so much better now. We didn't ask for any of it and they just kept over-delivering.
There was Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation, so it's not the first time we're seeing these characters animated. But why anime?
BLO: We pretty much wanted to work with cool people. I love anime. I've always loved anime and been fascinated by Japan and that whole industry. The way that comics and animation are kind of enmeshed in Japan is really cool to me.
I never thought I would make an anime. I never really thought I would even make a cartoon. Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation is a thing you can see on YouTube and it was a very short promotional thing that was done for the movie. But, Netflix basically approached me and asked if I wanted to work with Science Saru and I just said, Hell, yes!
We're approaching the 20th anniversary of the original Scott Pilgrim release, which is kind of perfect timing for this new version. Did you ever imagine it going like this?
BLO: As a kid in the 90s, I wouldn't have ever thought my name would be on an anime with a cool Japanese opening song and all that stuff. I never even thought I would visit Japan. It's really humbling to be able to work with all these great people and let them to do their craft. Which like, they're the pinnacle of what you can do with art and what you can do with your hand, basically. So yeah, I'm constantly floored that I get to be here and do this stuff.
BDG: This is the most ambitious thing that I've ever worked on and to do it with people of this caliber who you know can execute everything you're coming up with is something that I may never have in this way again. And that's the exciting thing about it, is Bryan and I were just trying to push this as far as we could in terms of being surprising and cool and new. And we were just surrounded with people who could execute anything. You could write the most insane idea imaginable and they'll turn it into reality and do a really, really good job of it.
Sometimes you can write things and they have that horrible term called execution dependent and so it is that. But in this case, it's like we never had to worry about tha. We have these amazing actors, these amazing animators, a great music team, and we just knew we could get to the finish line.
Presley Ann//Getty Images
We have a trailer. We have some opening credits. Anything in particular that they should look closely at before they fully dive into the series?
BLO: I'm just very proud of the opening animation, especially because we had so little to do with it. We literally were just like, We want a really cool opening. Go. And, you know, they they picked a band that we loved, Necry Talkie. When I got the demo in my email a few months ago, like I full cried. I was just like, Oh my god, I have this cool Japanese opening song. I was reading the lyrics and they're all about being in a band and stuff and I'm very happy with that. I don't,
I don't think there are any spoilers, but it really gives you a sense of the comics, which I love, and ties into video game a little bit. So I'm very happy with that opening.
BDG: I went over every single shot of the whole season with a fine-tooth comb over what could be in marketing and what couldn't. So, unfortunately, there's nothing in the marketing that can really tell you anything about what's actually going on in the show. But I would say, pay attention to the new stuff. That's really all I've got.
BLO: The ninjas! There's ninjas. Pay attention!
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off premieres November 17, 2023, exclusively on Netflix.
Watch 'Scott Pilgrim Takes Off' on Netflix
Related Stories
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLvSpqapp5yewaK6jZympmeVo8GmvtOaoKellaPBcMDVaJhtbWhrf3aFj2iqnKekqXqxtcugqaKlXamurLHSZqafnl2Xv7qtzWajnp1dpLqiuMuesGaalaOxosLInWSgqpGXtq%2B%2FyqJkoqakmr%2B3tcSwZg%3D%3D