Zoinks! Seems like everyone’s getting their own cinematic universe these days, and now the Hanna-Barbera franchise is set to establish its own presence on the big screen, following Warner Bros.’ announcement of a new animated Scooby-Doo movie, where the Mystery Inc. team will be joined by other characters in the larger Hanna-Barbera universe.
The story for this new toon: The Mystery Inc. gang join forces with other heroes of the Hanna-Barbera universe to save the world from Dick Dastardly and his evil plans…and this time, we are told, the threat is real. Uh-oh, guess it’s not the usual bad guy dressed in a ghoulie outfit.
Frank Welker will reprise his role as the voice of Scooby, who has been cast along with Will Forte as Shaggy and Gina Rodriguez as Velma. They’ll be joined by Tracy Morgan who is set to voice Captain Caveman, who had his own Saturday morning mystery cartoon from 1977 to 1980, later appearing in “The Flintstones Comedy Show” and “The Flintstones Kids” (Note: actor Matthew Lillard, who’s been voicing Shaggy for years in animated cartoons ever since his appearance in the last two live-action Scooby-Doo movies is pissed off that no one told him about the recasting until he read it online; see below).
It seems like quite the inspired decision to bring in such a big star to voice a character of this animation studio who has been absent for quite some time—and there’s a wealth of memorable, yet long-idling characters in the Hanna-Barbera vault that similarly could be brought out of retirement. The I.P. potential here is enormous and it’s been sitting dormant for years.
The tentatively titled “Scooby” will be the first time the gang has been up on the big screen since 2004’s live-action “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed,” and is being made by Warner Bros. and its Warner Animation Group division.
Directing duties have been given to Tony Cervone, who has had a heavy hand in many recent projects of Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, The Looney Tunes Show, and Duck Dodgers. Chris Columbus, Charles Roven, and Allison Abbate are also on board as producers.
No word yet on whether this new Scooby Doo iteration will feature Powerful Shaggy. This new Scooby Doo adventure is scheduled to drop May 2020.
Well this sucks.
What a crappy way to find out…. thanks Hollywood. You never sense to amaze me. https://t.co/QDdlMAqlrZ— matthew lillard —Will block. 0-F’s-given (@MatthewLillard) March 2, 2019
