Netflix will bring another “modern reimagining” of the Scooby Doo franchise to its streaming service.
The fictional dog Scooby Doo has often been asked many questions such as “What’s New?” and “Where Are You?”, over the many decades his shows have been on the air, but perhaps the newest question should be if there is a demand for Netflix’s recently revealed live-action series, currently in production.
“In this modern reimagining, old friends Shaggy and Daphne team up at summer camp with scientific townie Velma and the strange but handsome Fred to solve the mystery of a lonely lost Great Dane puppy — who may have witnessed a supernatural murder.”
Netflix via X, March 2025
A screenshot from Scooby Doo – Tubi
While Scooby Doo has continuously proven to be a strong brand that has more than outlived many of its other Hannah-Barbera brethren from decades past, the show has found itself riddled in controversy after the recent negative and outspoken backlash from changes made to the source material for the sake of diversity in 2023’s Velma.
While Scooby Doo has had other projects over the years that have received questionable reception from the public such as the animated Return to Zombie Island film or the often forgotten Daphne & Velma direct-to-video live-action movie. The scars left behind from the very outspoken backlash for Velma have put the brand in a very awkward spot, and with Netflix creating a mixed reputation for producing live-action remakes, the great dane has a lot of work cut out for him to solve the mystery on how create a profitable show.
An image from Velma: This Halloween Needs To Be More Special! (2024), Warner Bros.
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Scooby Doo as a franchise has shown that not every entry needs to be a smash hit that is the talk of the town as the series has spawned around 50 films in varying forms of media, with many being a bit obscure. It can’t be neglected that the formula of the franchise has hit the imagination of viewers across several generations and decades, and with the “van lifestyle” and ghost stories being a popular trend amongst younger viewers, greenlighting a new series to create a somehow even larger fanbase makes financial sense, but the trail might go cold for Netflix on a potential success.
Whether you were a fan of short-lived series or not, Velma became a focal point in the culture war, and with many franchises appearing to now be shifting to newer industry trends that more reflect the tropes of prior time periods, such as the early 2000s, the new show runners, Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg, are going to have a lot of work cut out for them to have Mystery Inc. once again win the hearts of viewers everywhere.
The upcoming series is said to be a “modern reimagining” of the iconic mystery-solving group and will explore the beginning of their history.
“During their final summer at Camp Ruby-Spears, old friends Shaggy and Daphne get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma, and the strange but ever-so-handsome new kid, Freddy, they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets.”
Announcement via Netflix.com
An image from Velma: This Halloween Needs To Be More Special! (2024), Warner Bros.
In what has been stated by those behind the production so far, it appears that the team has spoken highly of the brand, with executive producer Greg Berlanti even stating that one of his first and favorite jobs was with Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera while they signed animation cels.
There is a lot of desperate hope that the Scooby Doo series will be good, but at the end of the day Netflix is at the wheel of the Mystery Machine, and the fans can only hope the final stop is not a another streaming scare for viewers.
Do you think the Netflix adaptation of Scooby Doo will be good? What’s your favorite Scooby Doo project? Do you think Warner Bros will do Scooby Doo justice with the companies they trust with their brand? Sound off in the comments below!
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Hasn’t the Scooby Doo IP suffered enough? Like anything from Netflix it should be ignored.
First they license out Looney Tunes to TUBI. Now they’re licensing out Scooby and the gang to Netflix for a series that’s no doubt going to be as horrible as Velma. WBD must be even worse off financially than I’d dare hoped.