Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is finally here on Netflix! And — massive spoilers past this point — what was sold as a gentle anime-style remix of Scott Pilgrim the six-volume comic book series, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World the movie is anything but. The new animated series from Bryan Lee O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski is a full-blown sequel to the original story, even going all the way to show us Old Scott Pilgrim.
Yep, that’s right: Old Scott Pilgrim. And in fact, if you’ve watched through to the end you’ve also met Even Older Scott Pilgrim, the final jacked-up form of the title character. So who voices Old Scott Pilgrim on Scott Pilgrim Takes Off on Netflix? Don’t worry, we have your answer right here: it’s Will Forte, of course.
That said, you might need a little bit more of an explanation. So here’s what to know about Old Scott Pilgrim, and Will Forte, the voice actor for the character.
Who Is Old Scott Pilgrim In Scott Pilgrim Takes Off?
Again, serious spoiler warning here. In the first episode of the new series, titled “Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life,” we follow the plot of the first book (of the same title) and the movie. Scott Pilgrim (voiced by Michael Cera) meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). He then discovers he needs to battle her seven evil exes to keep dating her. Only in Takes Off, instead of fighting through the slate of evil exes, he is seemingly killed by Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), the first ex.
As we find out in the second to last episode, Scott was not killed. He was taken to the future by Old Scott Pilgrim (voiced by Will Forte) who — in his thirties — is somehow more pathetic than he was in his twenties. He’s still obsessed with video games, and still living with Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin), but hasn’t moved on with his life. In particular, despite getting married to Ramona, after a big fight, they broke up and moved into separate places. That’s what Old Scott is trying to prevent: if he can stop younger Scott from ever dating Ramona, he won’t feel the heartbreak he feels now (aka, in the future).
Who Is Even Older Scott Pilgrim In Scott Pilgrim Takes Off?
Scott Pilgrim — regular version — manages to get back to the present, and despite everything still wants to be with Ramona. Only problem? They’re prevented from kissing by a force field. In the final episode, we discover this force field is a last-ditch effort by Even Older Scott Pilgrim (also Forte) to prevent Ramona and Scott from dating. He’s spent the intervening years between when regular Scott left and “now” getting yoked in preparation for fighting everyone.
They mostly beat him, but the killing blow comes courtesy of Older Ramona, who explains to Even Older Scott he’s being an idiot… They fought once, and he thought that was it for them. Why didn’t he give it another shot? When the series finishes, Scott and Ramona return to their regular time and try to make a go of it. Will it work? Or are Old Scott and Even Older Scott still somewhere in their future?
Oh, also if you’re wondering there’s a brief cameo by Finn Wolfhard as Younger Scott. So, four Scotts, three voices! Good times.
Who Voices Old Scott Pilgrim? What To Know About Will Forte:
You almost definitely know former Saturday Night Live cast member Will Forte. Not only was Forte on the show for nearly a decade, he’s also starred in the Macgruber movie based on his sketch character — and the surprisingly hilarious Peacock spin-off series. He also starred in the also hilarious Fox cult hit The Last Man on Earth.
The 53-year-old Californian has also starred in numerous movies and TV shows beyond the aforementioned titles. You might recognize him from recurring roles on 30 Rock, or as Pubba on our beloved Sweet Tooth on Netflix. On film, he’s been in everything from The Lego Movie to Booksmart. And upcoming, he’s starring in Coyote vs. Acme, the hybrid animated/live-action film that was initially killed for a Warner Bros. Discovery tax break before public outcry brought it back to life. It’s now being shopped around to various streaming services.
He hasn’t posted on X (formerly Twitter) in about a month, but you can join his 197.3k followers there. And he’s about as active on Instagram, where he has 83.8k followers. Alternately, you can follow him through time and challenge him to a fight, but I bet he’ll beat ya.
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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