‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ has a surprising connection to the embattled ‘Coyote vs. Acme’

Spoilers within.

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Ramona and Scott rush into battle in “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off,”
Credit: Netflix

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off boasts much of the returning cast from the live-action movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. But the best new addition to the franchise born from Bryan Lee O’Malley’s adored graphic novels is courtesy of Coyote vs. Acme — the movie that Warner Bros. planned to shelve for a tax break, only to be met with such backlash that the studio put it up for outside acquisition.

Amid a slew of cameos — including Weird Al Yankovic — national treasure Will Forte pops up to play a character who is complicated, deeply chaotic, and a major spoiler. So, consider that your warning. 

How did Will Forte come to join Scott Pilgrim Takes Off? 

Will Forte as MacGruber in “MacGruber.”
Credit: Michaels-Goldwyn/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Saturday Night Live alumni has done tons of voice work on cartoons like Clone High, The Great North, Rick and Morty, and many, many more, so it’s not too surprising that he’d pop up on this Netflix animated series. But in an interview with Mashable, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off co-creators Bryan Lee O’Malley and BenDavid Grabinski revealed it was a more personal connection that brought Forte into Pilgrim’s world. 

Grabinski explained that he’d worked on a project last year where he and Forte had a chance to talk.

“There’s this really awesome movie called Coyote vs. Acme that should be coming out soon. It is like a Who Framed Roger Rabbit?-style movie that’s really awesome.” (This interview took place days before the Looney Tunes movie would make headlines over the studio deciding to kill it for a tax write-off, as they did with Batgirl in 2022.)

“[Forte] is the lead. I didn’t write the movie. [Samy Burch,] the brilliant writer of the new Todd Haynes movie [May/December,] wrote it, but I have some jokes in it,” Grabinski explained, “and I was on set. And [Forte and I] were talking about how much I love MacGruber, which I’m sure he liked that I did. But we vibed and got along.” 

When it came time for Grabinski and O’Malley to cast a particularly tricky role on Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Forte sprung to mind. “Maybe he might want to do this?” Grabinski ventured. “And he said yes, immediately.” 

Who does Will Forte play in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off? 

Credit: Netflix

Late in the season, Ramona discovers Scott didn’t die in his battle with Matthew Patel. He was abducted, but not by an evil ex. Instead, using a time travel device, Scott was abducted by an older, embittered version of himself trying to prevent the romance with Ramona to spare himself future heartbreak. “Old Scott” is a grizzled Scott with a beard and a big personality, and he’s brought to life by Forte’s signature blend of enthusiasm and anxiety. 

 “You know, I’m sure there’s a world where Michael Cera could have played opposite himself,” O’Malley considered, “but we just really thought it was hilarious to have a different person play Old Scott.”

Grabinski noted that when it came to casting Old Scott, a lot of “big stars” were tossed around as ideas. But for him and O’Malley, Forte was their number-one pick. “He is the only guy to me that worked, because I thought he could be pathetic and funny and scary and all these different things,” Grabinski said. “But at the end of the day, [he could] still be kind of endearing because he’s a goofball. Even when he’s being psychotic. I just think that he has a lot of qualities that a lot of other actors cannot pull off.”

“We love Forte,” O’Malley concurred. “When we started writing the character, we were like, ‘Oh, it has to be him.’ Like, we just were hearing his voice in our head. And then BenDavid coincidentally got to work with him on that project last year.” 

It wasn’t fate that brought Forte to Scott Pilgrim Takes Off; it was Coyote vs. Acme. 

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is now on Netflix.

Kristy Puchko is the Film Editor at Mashable. Based in New York City, she’s an established film critic and entertainment reporter, who has traveled the world on assignment, covered a variety of film festivals, co-hosted movie-focused podcasts, interviewed a wide array of performers and filmmakers, and had her work published on RogerEbert.com, Vanity Fair, and The Guardian. A member of the Critics Choice Association and GALECA as well as a Top Critic on Rotten Tomatoes, Kristy’s primary focus is movies. However, she’s also been known to gush over television, podcasts, and board games. You can follow her on Twitter.

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