How gay will Scott Pilgrim's precious little film be?

The Oni Press comic Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life is closer to making it onto the big screen with the news that Michael Cera is in negotiations for the title role. While it'll be interesting to see how this romantic action-comedy's manga and video game influences are adapted to the big screen, I'll definitely be watching to see how they handle Scott's relationship with his gay roommate Wallace Wells.

In the comic, Scott and Wallace share a small apartment with space for only one bed, and the two are incredibly comfortable with the situation. In fact, both joke about the situation, trading sexual innuendos without any tension. Scott doesn't worry if sleeping in the same bed as a gay man threatens his heterosexuality and Wallace doesn't pine for his heterosexual bed mate.

Wallace is Scott's snarky voice of maturity, frequently calling Scott out on his emotional wishy-washiness. Wallace isn't perfect, though, and he isn't a sexless fairy godfather who is there to make Scott a better heterosexual. In the first Scott Pilgrim volume, he steals away the friend Scott's sister brings to a club, charming the guy with the way he hilariously heckles the band from their balcony seat.

The casting of Cera brings to mind his breakout role in Superbad, where the subtly-gay Seth (played by Jonah Hill, who certainly hasn't shied away from gay roles) seemed to have romantic feelings for Cera's character, Evan, a quality which Superbad played without turning to homophobic humor.

Cera's not the only person attached to Scott Pilgrim who has handled gay-ish themes comfortably. Edgar Wright is set to direct the film. Wright, who co-wrote and directed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, gave us wonderfully touching "bromances" that didn't need to stoop to gay-baiting humor to affirm the guys' heterosexuality.

It's been great to see depictions of straight men who aren't threatened by an affectionate and intimate friendship, but Scott Pilgrim could take things further by depicting a "bromance" between a straight and gay guy with no underlying sexual tension. I don't want to overplay the prominence of Wallace (who is definitely a supporting character) but he could make Scott Pilgrim's Little Life one for gay filmgoers to keep an eye on.