Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy has become a favorite among fans of comedy, but what’s the story behind the collective name of these films? In 2004, Shaun of the Dead marked the beginning of a comedy trilogy that would be known as the Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy, or simply Cornetto Trilogy. All films were directed and co-written by Edgar Wright, with Simon Pegg (also co-writer) and Nick Frost as the main stars.
The trilogy consists of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End, all from different genres with comedy as the link between the three – and Cornettos. Although all films include a Cornetto ice cream in one way or another, it’s widely believed that this was planned from the beginning, but the story behind the name of the trilogy is slightly different than how most people might realize.
The Cornetto Trilogy wasn’t conceived as such, and wasn’t even named like that until the promotional tour of Hot Fuzz. The Cornetto in Shaun of the Dead was added to the story by Wright as a hangover cure for Nick Frost’s character, Ed, based on his own experiences. When they received free Cornetto ice creams at the after-party for the film, Pegg and Wright decided to add one in the next film, Hot Fuzz, so they would get more free ice cream. Sadly, Cornetto didn’t send more free products, but it was the beginning of the whole Cornetto Trilogy concept.
During the promo tour of Hot Fuzz, an interviewer pointed out the Cornetto references in the two films, with Wright jokingly saying that they represent a trilogy like Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colors film trilogy (Blue, White, and Red, each one loosely based on one of the three ideals of the French Republic). The third film, The World’s End, was in development at that time, so adding a Cornetto to it was no problem.
Although the first Cornettos weren’t added with the intention of being a link between the films, that doesn’t mean that just any flavor was going to be on the big screen. Edgar Wright is known for his attention to detail in all his films, and these were no exception. Shaun of the Dead has a strawberry Cornetto, in reference to the film’s zombie/bloody theme; Hot Fuzz features the blue Cornetto, because it’s a buddy cop film; and The World’s End has the green mint chocolate chip ice cream, representing science fiction. This last film is also the only one that doesn’t feature a character eating a Cornetto, instead adding just the wrapper near the end of the film.
Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg know how to use what happens to them and around them to their advantage, as the whole Cornetto Trilogy concept eventually drew more attention to the films. Fans can thank Cornetto for inspiring the addition of the ice cream to the rest of the films and with that giving a name to the trilogy that is easy and fun to remember.
