Movies

Robert Pattinson Was Almost An Evil Ex In 'Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World,' And More Trivia Revealed On 10th Anniversary

scott pilgrim vs. the world trivia
By Hoai-Tran Bui/

It's been a decade since we discovered bread made us fat, but Scott Pilgrim vs. the World's cult classic status has not dimmed since its release in 2010. Rather, the love for this marvel of star power combined with director Edgar Wright's video game stylings has only gotten stronger, and that's not just because it's given us a few Marvel stars like Chris Evans and Brie Larson.

On the 10th anniversary of the release of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a flood of love for the film from fans and the cast has arrived, along with a flood of new trivia and behind-the-scenes stories. Did you know Robert Pattinson was almost an Evil Ex? That Michael Cera and Chris Evans worked out together? And what's up with that "no blinking" rule?

Robert Pattinson Was Almost an Evil Ex, and Other Auditions

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Wright revealed that a few future stars would audition for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. One of those was Betty Gilpin, GLOW breakout and The Hunt star, who auditioned to play drummer Kim, alongside Oscar nominee Rooney Mara and The Big Sick star Zoe Kazan. Wright said:

"Sometimes there will be an [actor] I see... Like when I saw Betty Gilpin in GLOW. I was like, 'Why does this woman look familiar? She's amazing, oh, my God. Why do I know her? Why does that name sound familiar?' And it's like, 'Oh yeah, she read for Scott Pilgrim.' That's what I do feel quite good about," he said, "because I looked at my notes again and I had written by Betty Gilpin: 'She's great.' At least I feel good about the fact that even if people lost out on the roles... there's a lot of people who were kind of next."

It's interesting to think about how career trajectories may have changed if Wright went with a different casting decision. Like Chris Evans, who would soon hit it big as Captain America after playing the evil ex-boyfriend Lucas Lee, could have lost out to future Batman, Robert Pattinson. Another Marvel star Sebastian Stan also auditioned for Sex Bob-omb lead singer Stephen Stills, which ultimately went to Mark Webber. Wright was satisfied with the cast he ended up with, but "even when I look at the list of people who did audition, they're all people I would still kill to work for," he said.

An Edgar Wright movie with all the Scott Pilgrim cast-offs (just think: Pattinson, Gilpin, Mara, Kazan, and Stan all in one movie!) would almost be as star-studded as Scott Pilgrim ended up being.

Michael Cera and Chris Evans Would do Push-Ups Together

Here's a funny image for you: Michael Cera and Chris Evans doing push-ups together. The physical training for Scott Pilgrim was apparently intense, Cera told The Hollywood Reporter, likening the shoot to a summer camp that motivated him to get in shape. "We would all wake up in the morning and do training," Cera recalled. "Beat the hell out of our bodies, then later in the day we'd be rehearsing again."

Wright would get up at eight in the morning to work out with the main cast too, even those who weren't in any fight scenes like Kieran Culkin. "The kids who weren't in the fight scenes felt left out that they weren't doing any of the training, so they just came along for the hell of it just to train. It was so fun," Wright said, comparing the shoot to a "20-somethings playground." One thing you won't see on the playground: Cera and Evans in a push-up battle. Wright described:

"Seeing Michael and Chris Evans doing push-ups together is just... this is why you get into the business, for these, sort of, beautiful moments."

The Blink Nazi

During the quarantine live-read for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the cast kept making jokes about being able to blink, which referred to a rule that Wright made during filming. "It was this idea of making it look more like live-action animation," Wright said, "people would look much more animated."

Though the blinks could be taken out digitally, this practical technique worked, though it got Wright "the nickname 'the blink nazi,'" Wright said with a laugh. "It's a funny thing that when you do it, it creates a very interesting presence."

Edgar Wright Shares Behind-the-Scenes Photos

In honor of the 10th anniversary, Wright shared behind-the-scenes photos from pre-production and during production of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. You can see all the photos in Wright's Twitter threads below.

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