We shouldn’t expect to see the live-action Scooby-Doo gang getting back together on screen anytime soon. After coming into this world as an animated creation in 1969, the cartoon dog and his mystery-solving pals that make up Mystery Inc. would eventually transition into live-action for a theatrical film released in 2002. The movie was given a follow-up with 2004’s Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed.
Among the cast of the live-action movies is Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne Blake. While promoting her new series Wolf Pack, Gellar was asked by Entertainment Tonight if there could be a new live-action Scooby-Doo project in the cards that she’d return for with her fellow co-stars. Her response would suggest that to be unlikely, because as far as Gellar can tell, the focus of that franchise right now is in animation. Live-action Scooby-Doo projects could return in the future, but don’t seem to be part of the cycle at the moment.
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“I think they moved onto cartoons now. I think it’s like, all cyclical right? So, it’s like cartoon, live-action – they’re back to cartoon now.”
Scooby-Doo Takes a Break from Live-Action
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The Scooby-Doo franchise has been exploring more with animation, including the recent arrival of the HBO Max series Velma. Controversially, the animated show has reimagined the human members of Mystery Inc. while completely omitting Scooby-Doo from the equation. Reviews have been extremely negative, falling to an abysmal 6% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 1.3 rating on IMDb. The Daphne in this incarnation is voiced by Constance Wu, while the titular character is played by Mindy Kaling, who executive produces.
In recent years, Scooby has appeared in animated shows like Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! and Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?. In 2020, the franchise released the reboot movie Scoob!, which was intended to spawn a new movie series of its own. Production has since been completed on a prequel, dubbed Scoob! Holiday Haunt, which was going to be released on HBO Max. However, fans won’t get to watch it as the movie was shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery, befalling a fate similar to the company’s axed Batgirl film.
Meanwhile, while Gellar won’t be back as Daphne Blake in the near future, she is back to acting with a main role in the new series Wolf Pack. The series will be premiering for streaming as a Paramount+ original on Jan. 26, 2023. You can watch an official trailer below.