The Video Game Boss Fans Want To See Heavily Featured On The Cuphead Show
Netflix's "The Cuphead Show" has proved to be a knockout with fans, injecting the world of its notoriously difficult namesake video game "Cuphead" with a extra dose of charm, whimsy, and slapstick. While the creative team's impressive ability to replicate the animation style of old-school cartoons from around the 1940s like "Mickey Mouse" and "Looney Tunes" is reason enough to marvel over the series, the project has also provided some very welcome character development for many of the colorful characters seen in the original game — even down to its abundant supply of bosses.
Though most of Cuphead and Mugman's foes from across the Inkwell Isles have, at the very least, made a cameo thus far in "The Cuphead Show," there are still quite a few familiar faces who have yet to show up. In fact, there's one particular boss from the game that many fans are hoping will drop in on the action sooner rather than later. That is, one boss consisting of many different characters.
Fans want Moonshine Mob on the show
The boss that many "Cuphead" fans want to see in "The Cuphead Show" doesn't even exist within the base video game. Moonshine Mob, a gang of alcohol-bootlegging insects, joined as part of the game's DLC expansion "Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course." The Moonshine Mob boss fight is tough to beat, with one phase seeing the porcelain protagonists caught in a shootout between the mob and a police force of ants. In a post on the r/Cuphead subreddit, fans discussed how the fight could be adapted for "The Cuphead Show." u/Tatarkingdom suggested a plot in which Cuphead and Mugman attempt to scrub their criminal record by helping the police bust the mob.
But while Moonshine Mob is a popular pick for a future appearance on the show, some fear the characters might be too risqué. "I would like that as much as you do but considering what moonshine was and the fact that the show is targeted to a younger audience it probably won't happen unfortunately," u/Bobgangforvever commented.
"The Cuphead Show" is a kids' show, yet it's still plenty packed with adult-oriented jokes. "Netflix bought this to be a show for seven years old and up," executive producer Dave Wasson told Collider. "But we also know that the major fan base for this game is older. So, we knew we really didn't want to let the fans down. So, we were writing, in a way, were trying to make it inclusive of everyone."
A Moonshine Mob appearance is uncertain
Seeing as "The Delicious Last Course" launched for "Cuphead" in June 2022, fans naturally might expect characters from this expansion, like Moonshine Mob, to appear in future "The Cuphead Show" installments. Indeed, the series is set to debut a new batch of episodes on August 19 and the trailer heavily emphasizes Ms. Chalice, mirroring her role in the DLC as a new playable character. Unfortunately, this ostensible Season 2 of "Cuphead" is causing an uproar for an important reason.
Crucially, the new episodes of "The Cuphead Show" aren't Season 2, at least in the traditional sense. Netflix originally ordered a count of 36 episodes (or 48, by conflicting accounts) and then opted to release them in chunks, as was confirmed by show artist Lauren Duda. According to some, like Twitter user @kylemsnape, Netflix likely made this decision to avoid renegotiating salaries between actual seasons. "It's sad and these guys need a better deal," the user tweeted.
Duda's comments suggest the team had completed production on all the ordered episodes at least several months prior to the launch of "The Delicious Last Course." Though it's possible that the crew consulted the game's developers about including elements from the DLC in the show when the two projects were both in production, it's uncertain if any future "seasons" will delve into the expansion's world. If fans really want to see Moonshine Mob appear, they must hope that "The Cuphead Show" gets a true-blue renewal at Netflix.