Fan Buzz Around 'Scott Pilgrim Takes Off'

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, the animated adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a comic series and live-action movie, was released on November 17th, 2023, on Netflix. Long-time fans of the movie and even longer-time fans of the comics raved about it all over social media, with the hashtag #scottpilgrimtakesoff on TikTok reaching 458.1M views, and the show hitting the Top 10 Shows in the U.S Today on Netflix within just a few hours of its release. The live-action movie has also resurfaced its way again onto Netflix’s “Trending Now” list.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, both the comic series and movie, center around 23-year old Scott Pilgrim (played by and voiced by Michael Cera), a bass guitarist for a garage-rock band who falls for Ramona Flowers (played and voiced by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), but must defeat all seven of her evil exes to win her love. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, however, took a different approach than what the fans were expecting; unlike SPVTW, where Scott successfully defeats Ramona's first evil ex-boyfriend, Scott is the one who’s defeated (and turns into coins) instead. He's then absent for the majority of the show as Ramona becomes the new protagonist of SPTO, and we follow alongside her as she discovers Scott was never actually beaten, and uncovers the truth behind his disappearance while facing her League of Evil Exes all on her own.

Fans have mixed opinions on this new direction taken by Bryan Lee O’Malley, the creator of Scott Pilgrim. Though many appreciate O’Malley giving the League of Exes some much-needed character development by exploring the effects their relationships with Ramona had on them, and allowing Ramona and other fan favorites like Young Neil (voiced by Johnny Simmons) and Julie Powers (voiced by Aubrey Plaza) more of an opportunity to shine in SPTO, some fans argue that Scott’s absence from majority of the show made the live-action movie more preferable. 

Regarding this, BenDavid Grabinski, co-writer of SPTO, told Rolling Stone magazine, “I think that if you get to the end of the season, and you don't think there was enough Scott, you're out of your mind, because there is an unbelievable amount of Scott — almost maybe too much by the end."

The Scott Pilgrim franchise has been enjoyed by many for a decade now, and with the release of SPTO, the love has only continued to grow. Fans who got into the franchise through the show are now picking up the comics, while older fans have been pleading with O’Malley online for a 2nd season. 

In response, O’Malley also told Rolling Stone magazine, “It’s self-contained for now. I never say never, but right now, it seems like it would take about 50 different miracles simultaneously for another season to happen.” He adds, “People are always complaining about how shows get canceled after one season. So we hedged our bets immediately, and tried to make a self-contained one season.”

“We put everything we had into this, and we think it has a really great ending that we’re proud of,” Grabinski said in the same interview. “Maybe someday one of us will text each other an idea that’s really great for a Season 2. But for now, my entire brain and heart is in this thing, and just getting it out into the world.”