Scott Pilgrim vs the World creator Bryan Lee O’Malley said Michael Cera randomly revived the film cast’s email chain after nine years of silence.
Cera starred as the titular slacker musician in Edgar Wright’s 2010 adaptation of O’Malley’s graphic novels.
As it happened, the franchise was brought back by Netflix just after Cera got the cast chatting again. O’Malley was speaking to Entertainment Weekly about the forthcoming Scott Pilgrim Takes Off anime series, featuring the original film cast in voice roles.
“The cast have spoken about this email chain a lot but there’s one detail that I don’t think anyone has mentioned,” O’Malley said.
“We were exchanging emails when the movie was coming out and then this thread went dormant for about nine years. Then, before this anime was even on the docket, Michael Cera responded to a meme someone had sent as if no time had passed. He just said, ‘Oh, that’s funny.’ Chris Evans responded like, ‘Michael, what the f*** are you doing responding to this email from nine years ago?’ And then we all started chatting again.”
Evans played douchebag skater Lucas Lee, the first in the League of Evil Exes that Scott (Cera) must defeat in order to date Ramona Flowers (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead).
The all-star cast also included Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Alison Pill, Aubrey Plaza, Brandon Routh and Jason Schwartzman.
Michael Cera (left) and Chris Evans— (Getty Images)
O’Malley added: “We were all pretty young when we made the movie. We all felt like family and I think we have ever since.
“Everyone just very kindly and very promptly said yes,” he said of the new project.
Consisting of eight episodes, the new anime series will tell the same story as the 2010 movie.
In an interview last month, Cera admitted he felt “a little depressed” after Scott Pilgrim wrapped.
“We just had the greatest vibe with everybody,” the 34-year-old said. “I think that trickled down from Edgar [Wright] and the energy that he was creating. We all got to rehearse together and spend a lot of time together before we even started making the movie.”
The 35-year-old actor, who most recently starred in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, said that after nine months of filming, he felt like the film and the people involved were his safe space.
“This is my world, this is my group of friends,” he said. “I thought it was always gonna be this way, and honestly I was a little depressed when we were done because it all just goes away, and you’re kind of like, ‘Where did everybody go?’
“You kind of get used to it as you get older, but I was sad to lose it, I could have kept making that forever, even though it was exhausting.”
In 2020, the cast of Scott Pilgrim vs the World reunited over Zoom for a virtual table read to mark the 10-year anniversary of the film’s release.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will be available on Netflix on 17 November.
