Cartoon Base's Full Exclusive Q&A with 'THE CUPHEAD SHOW' head writer Deeki Deke.
CB & DD: What was your role on The Cuphead Show?
Deeki Deke: I was the head writer/story editor and reported to Dave Wasson, the show's Developer & Executive Producer. Anything I pitched was first discussed with Dave, co-EP Cosmo Segurson, directors Clay Morrow and Adam Paloian, and later our script coordinator Margaret Hoffman. It was my job to unify our voices, sensibilities, and humor into producible episodes. As a group, we had a certain chemistry that can't be duplicated by any one of us individually, so anything I say here is just one person's opinion and lacks the benefit of being improved by the rest of that incredible story team.
CB: Would you like to work on another season of the show?
Deeki Deke: Would I like to work on another season of the show? I constantly think in the voices of these characters, I speak their dialogue in public as it occurs to me and frequently appear disturbed to passersby, I still have my Netflix ID badge and every day I swipe it at nothing... Would I *like* to work on another season, or do I *need* to work on another season - and the answer to *both* is help me.
CB: If the show gets renewed, would the season focus around the Devil's Casino?
Deeki Deke: Just to be clear, this wouldn't be exclusively my decision, but if the show were renewed and I had any involvement, the first thing I'd pitch would look like this tweet from a year ago:
CB: Any crossover with another IP you'd like to do if budget and effort weren't in the question?
Deeki Deke: I would like to do an older-skewing crossover of Cuphead and Hazbin Hotel. This would ignite a holy war between the fandoms, but then, holy wars are embedded in both shows' backstories.
CB: Which bosses would you like to appear in Season 4 if the show got renewed?
Deeki Deke: We introduced several bosses in the episodes that were storyboarded but not animated, including Djimmi, Wally Warbles, and Cagney Carnation among others. My "fan fiction" Season 4 would include all those storyboarded episodes, as well as more Evil & Vile, the introduction of Ms. Malice, Chef Saltbaker, and an ongoing subplot featuring Djimmi and The Devil.
I'd like a new season to focus on other parts of the tapestry of the Inkwell Isles, with Cuphead & Mugman on the periphery. I think it'd be cool to fill out the rest of the world for a bit, and then return to Cuphead & Mugman and put them on a journey similar to the game, where they're interacting with the bosses in a more directly confrontational way.
CB: Do you think the show has a chance to return in the future with enough fan support?
Deeki Deke: Sure, plenty of shows go away and come back after fan demand. Family Guy went off the air after 2 seasons but came back a few years later and is still on today, so you never know. I think part of the reason talking about this is tricky is because nobody's ever said the show is "cancelled." Maybe our casino ending was too neat and tidy a conclusion, but I'm glad we did it, because it felt right in the early days when we came up with it, and when we got to the last batch of episodes it still felt right.
Our story team had a very particular alchemy and process that worked well for us because we trusted each other and had the trust and support of MDHR and our incredible Netflix executive Megan Casey. But even without recapturing the same circumstances and even with a whole new team, I believe the world and the characters could fuel a thousand different shows. I doubt we've seen the last of the Inkwell Isles in animation.
CB: Would you be interested in making a movie?
Deeki Deke: Not just one, several. I'd do it up like Adventuretime and give certain characters their own standalone movies.
CB: For how many seasons would you like the show to run if it got renewed?
Deeki Deke: 1,000. Rick & Morty for 1,000 years, so why not The Cuphead Show for 1,000 years?
CB: Can you share any ideas that you considered exploring in future episodes?
Deeki Deke: Several episodes were storyboarded but not animated, and there were tons of episode pitches and ideas that never went forward. I won't spoil any of those, since hopefully they'll be appearing in The Art of The Cuphead Show book. (My part of that process has wrapped and I don't have any official updates, but all those storyboards have been provided. I was extremely vocal - annoyingly vocal - about including them because those episodes are absolutely fantastic and deserve to be seen in the book, unless there are other plans for them. #RENEWTHECUPHEADSHOW)
Beyond that, I've got plenty of my own ideas for future episodes that I came up with after my time on the show, including a few that take place primarily in hell:
"A Very Devil Wedding" (exactly what it sounds like), "Dice on Ice" (which includes a shocking King Dice-related twist followed by a rug-pull followed by another shocking twist), and "The Devil's New Henchman," which involves a grief-stricken Devil learning to work with a new henchman, and his unexpected warmth toward them. Momentary warmth, anyway. This episode ends with a jaw-dropping reveal in the form of Devil-centric body horror.
I'd also love a run of Djimmi/Devil stories. Djimmi's introductory episode is one of the episodes that was fully storyboarded. It's called "Strange Magic" and was storyboarded by the awesome Fernando Puig & Karl Hadrika. The second Djimmi story would pick up after that and focus on The Devil taking pity on Djimmi, giving him a makeover, and teaching him how to become the "boss" we know from the game. And then some other stuff happens between them...
My dream season would also include the return of Evil & Vile, a story featuring their new nanny King Dice, and a whole episode where Evil & Vile are the stars. For that one, I'd repeat the exact same episode as "In Charm's Way," shot for shot, except with Evil & Vile in place of Cuphead & Mugman, and instead of Ms. Chalice, they meet Ms. Malice. There would be no dialogue, just the hell cups' grunting and growling in place of the lines we heard in "In Charm's Way."
Whatever the future holds for the show, I hope fans keep getting inspired to do their own creative fiction. It's been incredible to see all the creativity coming from the fandom, and I hope that creativity extends beyond the Inkwell Isles and into original ideas and characters. And for any fans who develop those original ideas into new shows and find themselves in need of collaborators, please hire me so I can get back to work and stop speaking Devil lines in public like a madman.
#RENEWTHECUPHEADSHOW