How Simon Pegg and Nick Frost joined the Scott Pilgrim universe

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

When Edgar Wright set about casting his 2010 movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, some people expected the director to find, at the very least, cameo roles for Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, with whom the director had previously worked on 2004's Shaun of the Dead and 2007's Hot Fuzz as well as two seasons of the sitcom Spaced. Wright, however, had other ideas.

"In my films that are not 'Simon and Nick' films, I've never had Simon in Nick in cameos," says the Brit, who would team up again with the two actors on 2013's The World's End. "I don't want to do a film with them where they're in support. It doesn't feel right to me."

Thirteen years on from the release of Wright's graphic novel adaptation, the two actors have finally joined the Scott Pilgrim universe by voicing a pair of film studio lot security guards on Netflix's animated show Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. While Wright is one of the series' executive producers, the director makes clear that he did not come up with the notion of casting his two pals on the latest iteration of writer-artist Bryan Lee O'Malley's fight-packed saga about a Toronto-dwelling indie-rock bassist.

"Well, that was not my idea, I just want to stress that, because I don’t want people to think that I’m trying to make it all about me," says Wright. "So, number one, not my idea!"

According to O'Malley, who executive-produced the show with BenDavid Grabinski, the journey, which ended with Pegg and Frost voicing characters on the show, actually began with Science Saru, the Japanese studio which provided the animation for the series. According to the Scott Pilgrim creator, "Science Saru drew characters that looked like them and we were like, hmm, that’s funny. I think it was just a complete fluke."

O'Malley and Grabinski decided to run with the idea. The latter recalls that "someone drew a bunch of different character-types for the security guards, someone else looked at it and said, those kind of look like Simon and Nick, ha ha. And then Bryan and I were texting saying, 'What if we just asked them if they want to [voice the characters]?' Then Edgar reached out to the guys. It was just fun. I think the third act of Hot Fuzz is maybe the best third act in movie history. No offense to Scott Pilgrim, which I’ve seen 400 times and I think is a perfect movie, but Hot Fuzz is my favorite movie that Edgar made. So we already had these security guard characters and it just became a new fun way to tie things together."

Wright reveals that not only did he help get Pegg and Frost on board, but he was also present when the pair recorded their performances for the show.

"Bryan said, 'Do you think Simon and Nick would do it?'" the director recalls. "I said, 'I can only ask, it would be funny,' and both of them were up for it. Those were actually two of the voiceovers where I was present, because they were doing it in London, and there is literally a voiceover studio around the corner from my house. It was like, 'I’ll be there, I’ll help when you do it.'"

On the show, the security guards voiced by Pegg and Frost are seen eating ice creams, which look suspiciously like Cornettos, the frozen treats in Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End, a.ka. the so-called Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy. Wright once again insists that this nod to his films was not his idea.

"I want to stress in Entertainment Weekly, I didn’t put the Cornetto in," the director says good-naturedly. "I don’t have a commission with Cornetto, I wish I did. I hope no fan out there watches it and goes, 'Oh, for f---s sake, Cornettos again!"

Grabinski explains that the idea of having the two characters eating ice cream actually came from the show's director Abel Gongora. The showrunner recalls, "Abel sent us a message saying, 'I think they should have Cornettos,' and we said, 'Great idea, Abel!' And that was it. I love seeming like this was all my idea, but there are so many good ideas that have nothing to do with me."

Wright does take credit for naming the character Edgar Wrong, the director of the show's movie-within-the-series Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, who is voiced by Kevin McDonald from Canadian comedy troupe Kids in the Hall.

"Yeah, I think Bryan had a different [name]," says Wright. "I think his one was Edgar Left or something. I was like, 'Oh, it should be Edgar Wrong. It’s like the dumb name you get called at school.' I think I probably got called Edgar Left and Edgar Wrong [at school] but I thought Edgar Wrong was better than Edgar Left. I’m a big Kids in the Hall fan, but what's funny is, he's called Edgar Wrong, he literally looks like I did in 2009, but he sounds nothing like me. [Laughs] It’s like, Kevin McDonald is not doing an impression of me, he's doing Kevin McDonald, which in its own way is surreal."

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is now streaming on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.

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