Netflix Greenlights $475 Million Scooby-Doo Series, Paving the Way for a Live-Action Series
Matthew Lillard’s $457M mystery franchise drops on Netflix in two weeks.
Netflix is pulling the Mystery Machine into its driveway again, and the timing is not an accident. The 2000s live-action Scooby-Doo movies are hitting Netflix US right as the streamer kicks off its brand-new reboot series. Translation: yes, they want you to binge the old ones before the new kids show up.
The classics are back (and yes, Lillard owns Shaggy )
On June 1 in the US, Netflix adds the two early-2000s Scooby-Doo movies: the 2002 film and its 2004 sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Matthew Lillard basically became Shaggy for a generation in those, flanked by Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, and Linda Cardellini as Velma. Neil Fanning voiced Scooby in both.
Raja Gosnell directed both movies, James Gunn wrote them, and together they delivered the first straight-up live-action take on the animated gang. The duology pulled in over $456 million worldwide and has only gotten more beloved (and meme-able) with time. A third film was once in the works but never happened, which only added to the legend as fans kept rediscovering the first two on home release and streaming.
Why now? Because Netflix has a new show loading
Netflix has a fresh live-action series called Scooby-Doo: Origins now filming in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a contemporary retelling of how the team first came together, with the season tracking the initial case that binds them as Mystery Inc. Netflix has already shared a first look at the new cast, but is holding back release details for now.
"Jinkies!! The scooby gang has started production on Scooby-Doo: Origins!"
- Tanner Hagen as Shaggy
- McKenna Grace as Daphne
- Abby Ryder Fortson as Velma
- Maxwell Jenkins as Fred
- Frank Welker voicing Scooby
Smart play by Netflix: drop the beloved movies on June 1, let everyone revisit Lillard’s shaggy, snack-fueled chaos, and stoke the appetite for the new take. No premiere date yet for Scooby-Doo: Origins, but the originals landing on Netflix should make the wait a little less painful.