Sex Bob-omb is warming up his guitars for a possible comeback.
Scott pilgrimThe hit graphic novel series that was adapted into a vehicle by Edgar Wright is heading to the screen once again, this time as an anime series.
Netflix and UCP, the division of Universal Studio Group behind The Umbrella Academy Y Chucky, are developing the new adaptation, which does not yet have a serial order.
Bryan Lee O’Malley, Pilgrim’s artist-creator, writes and executive produces with BenDavid Grabinski, the showrunner behind the revival of Are you afraid of the dark? on Nickelodeon. The two will show the series should it go forward, with the Science SARU anime house on hand to provide animation work. The company’s Eunyoung Choi will serve as producer and Abel Gongora as series director.
The band members from the 2010 film are also available for the anime. Wright and his producing partner Nira Park will receive executive producer credits along with Marc Platt, Jared LeBoff and Adam Seigel of Marc Platt Productions and Michael Bacall.
Part action fantasy, part romantic comedy, Pilgrim focused on the incumbent bum and a garage band called Sex Bob-omb with his friends. His life is turned upside down when he meets Ramona Flowers, an American girl who is recently single. But before their love can blossom, Pilgrim is challenged by his love’s previous seven relationships and must defeat them in over-the-top fashion.
Oni Press published six volumes of the series between 2004 and 2010, and the graphic novels not only became independent comic book hits, but a publishing phenomenon that broke into the mainstream and sold millions of copies.
Wright adapted the plays (he wrote and directed the script with Bacall) into a film titled Scott Pilgrim vs. the world, the name of the second volume, which featured Michael Cera as Pilgrim, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Flowers, and a cast that included Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman, and Brie Larson, among others. While it garnered solid reviews, the pricey film bombed upon its release, only to become a cult hit over the next decade.
On one level, bringing graphic novels to anime form is an acknowledgment of some of the Japanese roots of graphic novels, as O’Malley’s major influence on his work was various manga, the Japanese comic form.
Grabinski also wrote and directed the 2021 dark romantic comedy. Happily starring Joel McHale and Kerry Bishe and explored relationships and the jealousy they engender. He is represented by CAA, Kaplan / Perrone Entertainment, and Bloom Hergott.
O’Malley is represented by Fourward.