The Hollywood Reporter reported Friday that Netflix and Universal Studios Group’s Universal Content Productions (UCP) are developing an anime series based on Scott Pilgrim’s Brian Lee’s Omalleys graphic novel series. Netflix has yet to release an order for the series, but if it does happen, O’Malley and Grabinski will also be showing joint screenings. Eunyeon Choi Studios will produce the series and Abel Gongora will direct. So while we haven’t seen anything from the upcoming series, with these past pieces, there’s no doubt it’ll look good.
Honestly, Netflix has a good track record of adapting animated series (Castlevania, Devilman Crybaby, Arcane, etc.) and manga is essentially a storyboard waiting for an anime, so it seems like a good thing if they don’t go to great lengths to fix it. Given the lack of details about the anime series at the moment, it’s unclear if the anime will be closer to a graphic novel than the movie, but it looks a lot better for the series. According to a report by THR, the animated series will be based on the popular graphic novel series that inspired Faber to create video games and films, and Edgar Wright (creator of Scott Pilgrim vs. Brian Lee Omelli) will executive produce and write animation. It’s all exciting, so we’ll have to wait to see the latest adaptation. It is currently unknown if the anime series will follow the same storyline or something completely new.
They’re still in the early stages, but comic book creator Brian Lee O’Malley appears to be in the process of scripting and executive producer for the series, and Japan’s Science Saru, which previously made Devilman Crybaby for Netflix, is poised to animate it. Based on the comic, a 2010 feature film starring Michael Cera was filmed, directed by Edgar Wright, executive producer of the Scott Pilgrim anime. Filmmaker Edgar Wright is also credited with executive producing the Scott Pilgrim anime for Netflix alongside Nira Park, Mark Platt, Jared LeBoff, Adam Seigel, and Michael Bacall.
More than 10 years after the famous movie hit theaters, new content is undoubtedly welcome. Mir will return to theaters to celebrate its 10th anniversary with the re-release of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray movie. The Hollywood Reporter reported yesterday that Netflix and UCP, a division of the Universal Studio group that introduced The Umbrella Academy and Chucky, are working on a brand new adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim anime.
For those of you interested, yes, the band members from the 2010 original film also signed up to contribute to the anime. Notably, Netflix is collaborating on a potential project with a division of the studio Universal UCP, which previously hosted the Umbrella Academy show. Netflix will also partner with Universal Studio Group NCP, the unit responsible for the recent adaptation of Chucky TV, to help develop the show as soon as it gets greenlit, this partnership can be very valuable for Netflix’s future.
Netflix has been offering anime production over the years and the company is changing its approach, perhaps with the Scott Pilgrim Show playing a big part. Eunyeon Choi will be producing Scott Pilgrim, while Abel Gongora will direct the anime. The two will show the series, if any, with the animation house Science SARU, which will provide animation work.
This is not the first time a popular character has been reborn on the screen. The film also stars Kieran Culkin, Alison Pill, Anna Kendrick, Jason Schwartzman, Brandon Routh, and Chris Evans. The live film, released in 2010, was ahead of its time. Netflix declined to comment. Graphic novels followed owner Scott, a slacker, and bassist from Toronto. He’s in love with a girl named Ramona Flowers, but first, he must defeat his seven evil exes so they can date. His life is turned upside down when he meets recently single American Ramona Flowers. But when he meets one of her exes at a music group competition, he realizes he has to fight all seven exes to get her.
Although there were some deviations from the main plot in the form of comics and a cartoon short, the story of Scott, Ramona, and their friends was definitively determined, leaving little room for a sequel. OMalley wrote six graphic novels by Scott Pilgrim in the early years, elements of which have been compressed and incorporated into Wright’s feature film, so it’s clear there are many more stories and potentially rich new material to use in the anime series. Moving to anime certainly makes sense for the franchise; Part of the appeal of Scott Pilgrim’s original graphic novels was that O’Malley translated many manga and anime influences into a western sitcom love story. We’ll be keeping an eye on further updates for the Scott Pilgrim anime coming to Netflix, including casting news and news about a potential release date.
