Netflix’s Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, the eight-episode anime series based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s stylish graphic novels, is a pretty great spin on the original story, albeit a divisive one among fans who wanted a more straightforward retelling. The series follows Scott and Ramona, who, after establishing a budding romance, find themselves in a bind as Ramona’s seven evil exes challenge Scott to fight for her hand. While critical reception has been almost universally positive, the audience response to the show has been mixed, especially because it puts the titular hero on the back burner for most of the show’s run. It certainly seemed like the show ended with a cliffhanger for a potential second season, which got fans excited. Now, however, the co-directors say they have no plans to continue this version of Scott and Ramona’s story. For now, at least.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, O’Malley and co-producer BenDavid Grabinski said they view the series as a self-contained adaptation, rather than a springboard for a long-running Netflix series.
“We loved what we did,” O’Malley said. “We put it all in there. We don’t have any ideas lying on the floor. We pretty much put them all in. I never say never, but right now, it seems like it would take about 50 different miracles simultaneously for another season to happen. So we’ll see.”
I’d agree that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off wraps up most of its hanging threads by the end of its eight-episode run (even if there are still parts of the graphic novels I would have liked to have seen adapted). But there was one story that was teased at the end of the show and never resolved: The original series’ villain Gideon Graves is plotting alongside his new girlfriend Julie Powers. Because Takes Off remixes a lot of the Scott Pilgrim story, Gideon is not the main antagonist like he is in the graphic novels, but the show’s post-credits scene shows him and Julie scheming in his lair. As he looks at footage of Scott, Ramona, and all their friends, Gideon says ominously, “it’s time for the real game to begin.” Certainly seems like a lead-in for a second season with Gideon as the main baddie, right?
Well, it turns out that’s not the case.
“The post-credit scene is a goof,” Grabinski said on X (formerly Twitter) “It makes us laugh. It’s fun to see those two characters like that and imagine what they’re up to. We have zero plans for any future seasons or spin-offs but we never planned to make this show in the first place so who knows what the future will bring?”
I understand this might be disappointing to some. However, given how fraught revisiting Scott Pilgrim seems to be for O’Malley and everyone who’s ever read it or watched its adaptations, maybe we don’t need to brace ourselves for another set of bad Scott Pilgrim takes every couple of years. How many times must we reaffirm that Scott dating a high schooler is bad?
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