If you grew up in the early 2000s, you’d remember the first live-action Scooby-Doo movie in 2002. The film starred married couple Sarah Michelle Gellar (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) and Freddie Prinze Jr as Daphne and Fred, respectfully. Matthew Lillard was Shaggy, while Linda Cardellini played the awkward yet exceptionally clever Velma.
Two years later came the second live-action Scooby-Doo film, Monsters Unleashed, with the same cast. However, the first two were barely enough to keep the franchise going, leading to a television reboot film series, which also didn’t work. James Gunn, who wrote the previous two films, was scheduled to direct a third film, but it was cancelled.
The Television And Direct-To-DVD Live-Action Scooby-Doo Films
The 2009 television reboot film The Mystery Begins focused on how Mystery Inc met and got their first case in solving crime. This film and the sequel starred Robbie Amell as Fred. The sequel film, The Curse of the Lake Monster, was released in 2011.
Finally, the final live-action Scooby-Doo movie was Daphne & Velma, released on DVD in 2018. This one told the origins of Daphne and Velma and starred Sarah Jeffrey (of Descendants and reboot Charmed fame) as Daphne. Ashley and Jennifer Tisdale also produced it. The film had nothing to do with Shaggy, Fred and Scooby-Doo. If there had been another film, it could have focused on how the group came together and how Scooby became a part of it. While it was a fun movie, the only annoying thing is that Daphne’s constant luck was forced by her father, and she was too oblivious not to question it.
