Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Anime Will Expand Characters' Original Storylines

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off showrunners are happy to have the chance to expand other characters’ storylines outside of their relationship with Scott.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off showrunners Bryan Lee O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski confirmed that the Netflix anime series will explore other characters’ storylines besides the titular hero.

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, O’Malley, who created the original Scott Pilgrim vs. the World graphic novels, opened up about having the chance to expand the story of his other characters including Ramona Flowers, which was something he wasn’t able to do in the comics. "We’re trying to get into people’s heads more," O’Malley said. "Because when I was 25 years old, I didn’t know what these people were feeling necessarily. But I’ve seen a lot more life and I have more context for those characters now."

Grabinski revealed that fans will be introduced to a more fleshed-out Ramona, as the anime intends to add more layers to her character and explore who she is outside of her relationship with Scott. He added, "Ramona especially. It’s been so fun to try to just give you so much more of an emotional connection to her and adding as much shading as we can." Unlike the original series, Grabinski also confirmed that the fan-favorite character will also be getting a new job instead of delivering Amazon packages.

Besides Ramona, O’Malley also promised more scenes featuring the seven evil exes which consist of Matthew Patel, Lucas Lee, Roxie Richter, Todd Ingram, Kyle & Ken Katayanagi, and Gideon Graves. "I think my main regret that I’ve expressed about the books is that I didn’t get enough time to develop the evil exes," O’Malley said. "Especially after knowing the casting, it [felt] like, oh, we should have more scenes with the evil exes."

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Won’t Be an Exact Adaptation of the Original

After the first official teaser for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was released, O’Malley clarified that fans shouldn’t expect the upcoming Netflix anime to be a "word for word remake" of his graphic novels. He went on to describe the project as "its own new thing in many ways," while teasing "many fun surprises to come" for fans. O’Malley and Grabinski are executive producing the series along with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright. The streamer has once again partnered with Science SARU, the Japanese animation studio behind Japan Sinks: 2020, to produce the anime.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will also reunite the all-star cast of the hit 2010 film adaptation led by Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Anna Kendrick, Kieran Culkin, Aubrey Plaza, Jason Schwartzman and more. The story centers around 20-something slacker and bass player Scott Pilgrim, whose life changes after meeting the girl of his dreams, Ramona. In order to date her, he must be prepared to fight off her seven super-powered evil exes, who are determined to control her love life.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will be available for streaming on Nov. 17.