Now we’re getting somewhere! Edgar Wright is currently in Toronto preparing to shoot his Hot Fuzz follow-up, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s wonderful graphic novel series, the film follows Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) as he attempts to win the affection of Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) by defeating a host of her evil ex-boyfriends*.
Cast announcements have been trickling out for a few days, but now THR reports the motherlode. This new list fills out the major players and the important supporting cast. It gives a good idea of how deep into the series the script (by Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall) actually goes, since characters from Volume 4, the most recent release, are in this cast list. (Volume 5 is released next month.)
You might want to avoid the full breakdown that follows if you’re new to the series and want to remain uninformed. If that’s the case, here are the new cast additions, in brief:
Brandon Routh is Todd Ingram, one of Ramona’s exes
Brie Larson is Envy Adams, one of Scott’s exes
Mae Whitman is Roxie Richter, an old friend of Ramona’s
Satya Bhabha is Matthew Patel Ramona’s first ex.
Anna Kendrick is Stacey Pilgrim, Scott’s sister.
Mark Webber is Stephen Stills, Scott’s bandmate.
Alison Pill is Kim Pine, another of Scott’s bandmates.
Johnny Simmons is Young Neil, friend and big fan of Scott’s band.
I love it. Routh as Todd Ingram is inspired and could be great fun. Brie Larson should work really well for Envy. Milk‘s breakout Allison Pill might be slightly marginalized, as with this huge cast Kim Pine might end up being a smaller role than we’d like, but is still a great fit. And the reunion of Michael Cera and Arrested Development‘s Mae Whitman should be beautiful. And violent. So violent.
There are a few memorable characters not yet cast or announced: the members of the band Crash and the Boys, especially their phenomenal 8-year old drummer Trasha. Lynette, the drummer for The Clash at Demonhead, will be important. As could the father of Knives Chau, who might be in one of the best sequences of the film, if that sequence is, er, in the film.
Michael Cera is Scott Pilgrim
A 23-year old Toronto kid who wants to be liked, doesn’t really want a job and plays in a band because…well, he plays bass in a band. Pilgrim can seem like a dope, but has hidden reserves of strength and personality that emerge at (occasionally) opportune moments.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is Ramona Flowers
Cute girl who recently moved to Toronto from the States. Works as a delivery person for Amazon.ca, and uses her knowledge of subspace highways to excel at work. One such highway passes through Scott’s head. Instant crush. She says there are seven evil exes to defeat, but she says a lot of stuff, dude.
Kieran Culkin is Wallace Wells
Scott’s gay roommate, who is smarter, more stylish and way more responsible than he is. They sleep in the same bed, but Scott isn’t gay. Owns 95% of the stuff in their apartment.
Ellen Wong is Knives Chau
A nice 17-year old girl Scott ‘dates’, which really means they hang out together while Knives makes moon eyes and develops a crush that might have a violent outcome. (Foreshadowing?!?) Dumped for Ramona.
Satya Bhabha is Matthew Patel
The first of Ramona’s evil exes. Is involved in a dance number, which is the coolest thing he does. Otherwise is kind of pathetic. At first Scott ignores him without even realizing it.
Chris Evans is Lucas Lee
The second of Ramona’s exes, Lee is a former skater and up and coming mainstream (read: crappy) movie star. Beefy, arrogant and manipulable.
Brie Larson is Envy Adams
Could maybe be considered the first of Scott’s evil exes. She and Scott had a real thing for a minute, but her desire to be something bigger, or at least more famous, helped usher that to a close. Fronts the band The Clash at Demonhead.
Brandon Routh is Todd Ingram
Plays in Envy’s band and, coincidentally, is Ramona’s third evil ex. Is also a vegan and a douche, though that’s more or less redundant.
Mae Whitman is Roxie Richter
Ramona’s fourth evil ex, and the reason (or perhaps one of them) that we’re saying evil ‘exes’ instead of ‘ex-boyfriends’. Is sort of a ninja.
Anna Kendrick is Stacey Pilgrim
Scott’s sister. She’s much more together than he is.
Mark Webber is Stephen Stills
Guitarist/singer and most musically serious member of Sex Bob-omb, the band in which Scott Pilgrim plays bass.
Allison Pill is Kim Pine
Drummer for Sex Bob-omb, and the one who gets to introduce the band and loudly count off numbers at their shows. Dated Scott ages ago, but that’s so over. A misanthrope, almost.
Johnny Simmons is Young Neil
Sex Bob-omb’s biggest fan, at least until Knives Chau comes along. Looks sorta like Scott, but in a bland way.
Aubrey Plaza is Julie Powers
The girlfriend (most of the time) of Stephen Stills. Snotty. Former roommate of Envy Adams.
* Yeah, yeah, ‘evil exes’. But I’m trying to keep the top text as basic as possible; figure the people afraid of spoilers won’t read this far.