The Scott Pilgrim Takes Off panel at this year’s New York Comic Con (NYCC) was, of course, a delight. Anchored by Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, and his partner in crime on the upcoming Netflix animated series, BenDavid Grabinski, the panel was an hour of vague reveals and off-the-cuff jokes. But perhaps the biggest, wildest reveal? In the new Scott Pilgrim Takes Off trailer, they got the original guy who shouts “Mortal Kombat” in the Mortal Kombat theme song to shout “Scott Pilgrim.”
The news came after the trailer was shown in the room. Grabinski noted that as they were working on the show he was listening to a 10-hour version of the Mortal Kombat theme on a loop on YouTube. Based on that, he had the “dumb” idea to remake the classic video game theme song. But instead of Mortal Kombat characters, the announcer would shout Scott Pilgrim characters. And then not only did they make this song parody for the series with the band Anamanaguchi, and put it in the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off trailer… But they got Kyle Wyatt, the original guy who shouted “Mortal Kombat,” to do the voiceover.
For those not familiar with Scott Pilgrim, this makes a ton of sense. The six-volume series by O’Malley is packed with video game references, from The Legend of Zelda to Final Fantasy and beyond. And there was even a Scott Pilgrim vs. The World video game that is currently playable on the Nintendo Switch. In fact, video games are so pervasive in the series, that the upcoming 20th anniversary box set and initiative from Oni Press called SP20 is styled like the old PS2 logo.
Watch The Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Trailer:
The new Netflix series, which premieres on November 17, 2023, is an amalgamation and expansion of the Scott Pilgrim books with the movie version, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. In fact, Edgar Wright, who directed the movie and Executive Produced the series, introduced the trailer via video message at the NYCC panel. He lauded the production, and as he should: the entire voice cast of the 2010 film returns to do voices for the new anime series.
In the new trailer, along with the Mortal Kombat music, we get a closer look at how the show is both adapting and expanding the world of Scott Pilgrim. And in fact, two additional clips were shown off in the room at NYCC. The first was the show’s opening credits, which include new music and are styled exactly like the credits of an anime series. The second was an entirely new scene of Gideon (Jason Schwartzman) in an evil lair, activating The League of Evil Exes and sending Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha) to kill Scott.
You can watch the trailer above, and anticipate the series premiere in any direction you want.
Listen To Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Podcast:
Love Scott Pilgrim? Then perhaps you would also enjoy Scott Pilgrim vs. The Podcast. Every episode we break down a volume of the book series, discuss the feature film, and it’s all leading up to Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, the new Netflix series.
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I enjoy working on this project with these talented and creative individuals. 30 years later in the crossover has Begun. Kyle Wyatt, original voice Mortal Kombat
Can’t wait to see/hear the final product!