Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will feature epic fight scenes that could not be done in the live-action version.
This statement comes from co-creator BenDavid Grabinski, who, in an interview with Empire, was asked if the team would consider bringing the upcoming revamped anime to live-action if it is successful. He replied that the action scenes would not allow that to happen. “There is an extended battle scene in Episodes 2 and 3, if this were a live-action movie, the cost would be higher than Avatar. It will be unbelievably big. And you don’t have to think like that. You are not. limit. If you made a live-action movie of the show we did, I think it would be the most expensive movie ever and you would shoot for ten years. It would be a completely Hearts Of Darkness situation,” he said.
Scott Pilgrim returns with epic action
Live-action limitations are a big reason why Scott Pilgrim vs. The World had to be done in certain ways and cut out certain things. However, in the world of animation, a movie, or in this case a TV series, can do anything it wants if it has the right team and the budget to make it all happen. In general, anime is known for its incredible action scenes, special effects, and choreography that can blow real people away, and that’s what Grabinski says is the big driving force behind the upcoming adaptation.
He later noted in the interview that the team sometimes found themselves doing “normal plot points” despite the fact that their world and characters were over-the-top. They want to allow “their imagination to run wild” and that’s what they’re doing with this adaptation. How big or visually impressive the action sequences will be can only be known when people watch the anime.
Another thing the writers noted about Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is that the story won’t completely follow the plot of the original graphic novel series. The team said they see this new adaptation as telling the story of Scott Pilgrim in a world where people know who he is and his story has been around for a while. Thus, there will be a “new coat of paint” on it and some story beats will be changed. Grabinski said in that statement that it wouldn’t have been worth the effort if they told the story simply.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off arrives on Netflix on November 17.
Source: Empire