Mystery Inc. is officially assembling at Netflix.
Production is underway on Scooby-Doo: Origins, Netflix’s live-action reimagining of the iconic Hanna-Barbera franchise, with Mckenna Grace, Tanner Hagen, Abby Ryder Fortson and Maxwell Jenkins stepping into the roles of Daphne, Shaggy, Velma and Fred.
The new series goes back to the beginning, exploring the terrifying first case that brings Mystery Inc. together. And Netflix is making one particularly significant change along the way: Scooby-Doo will be portrayed by a real Great Dane for the first time in the franchise’s history.
Netflix has also expanded the supporting cast, with André Benjamin, aka André 3000, and Cathy Moriarty among the latest additions to a sizable ensemble that already includes Paul Walter Hauser, Sara Gilbert, Bruce McGill and Sherilyn Fenn.
What Is Scooby-Doo: Origins About?
Rather than beginning with Mystery Inc. already cruising around in the Mystery Machine, Scooby-Doo: Origins explores how the gang first came together.
During their final summer at camp, longtime friends Shaggy Rogers and Daphne Blake encounter a lonely, lost Great Dane puppy who may have witnessed a supernatural murder.
Their investigation brings them together with Velma Dinkley, a pragmatic and scientifically minded local, and Fred Jones, the strange but handsome new kid in town.
What starts as an investigation into the mysterious puppy quickly pulls all four teenagers into a much larger nightmare — one that threatens to expose secrets they’re each trying to keep.
That case ultimately becomes the mystery that creates Mystery Inc.
Meet The Live-Action Mystery Inc.
Netflix has assembled four young actors to reinvent one of television’s most recognizable groups of amateur detectives.
Mckenna Grace plays Daphne Blake. Grace has built an extensive film and television résumé that includes Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and The Handmaid’s Tale.
Tanner Hagen plays Shaggy Rogers, Daphne’s longtime friend who finds himself caught up in the supernatural mystery surrounding Scooby.
Abby Ryder Fortson plays Velma Dinkley, the pragmatic and scientific local who joins the investigation.
And Maxwell Jenkins plays Fred Jones, described by Netflix as the strange but “ever-so-handsome” new arrival who completes the future Mystery Inc. team.
Scooby-Doo Is A Real Great Dane This Time
Here’s where Scooby-Doo: Origins is doing something the franchise has never done before.
Scooby is a real dog.
Netflix previously unveiled its first look at the floppy-eared Great Dane who will portray Scooby, marking the first time in more than 50 years of Scooby-Doo that the title character has been portrayed by an actual Great Dane.
Previous live-action theatrical adaptations used a computer-generated Scooby alongside their human casts.
Origins is taking a different approach.
Netflix’s first teaser shows the puppy exploring the woods before encountering Hagen’s Shaggy, eventually giving viewers their first glimpse of the future best friends together.
It’s an intriguing creative decision, particularly because this isn’t yet the fully formed Scooby audiences know. The series is telling an origin story in which the gang initially encounters him as a lost puppy at the center of their first mystery.
Who Else Stars In Scooby-Doo: Origins?
Mystery Inc. won’t be solving this one alone.
Netflix’s increasingly large supporting cast includes Paul Walter Hauser, André Benjamin, Cathy Moriarty, Rusty Schwimmer, Peter Macon, Maxwell Simkins, Jona Xiao, Dani Deetté, Elysée Sanvillé, Alex Isles, Avery Kristen Pohl, Pamela Mitchell, Ross Kimball, Sara Gilbert, Wynn Everett, Sauriyan Sapkota and Bruce McGill.
Netflix has not yet revealed character details for many of those supporting roles, leaving plenty of mystery surrounding exactly how they fit into the gang’s first case.
The presence of André Benjamin, better known to music fans as André 3000 of Outkast, is particularly intriguing. His previous acting credits include High Life and Jimi: All Is by My Side.
Moriarty, meanwhile, earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Raging Bull and notably appeared in another family-friendly story involving a supernatural title character with 1995’s Casper.
Who Is Making Scooby-Doo: Origins?
Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg serve as showrunners and executive producers on the series.
They executive produce alongside Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Leigh London Redman through Berlanti Productions, as well as André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner and Adrienne Erickson through Midnight Radio.
Toby Haynes executive produces and will direct the premiere episode.
The series comes from Netflix and Warner Bros. Television and is based on the characters originally created for Hanna-Barbera.
Berlanti also has a personal connection to the franchise. He recalled that one of his earliest Hollywood jobs involved sitting alongside legendary animation producers William Hanna and Joseph Barbera as they signed animation cels.
When Does Scooby-Doo: Origins Premiere On Netflix?
Netflix has not announced an exact premiere date for Scooby-Doo: Origins.
The streamer previously announced that the series is coming in 2027, while its newly updated August 27 production announcement says only that filming is underway in Atlanta and an exact premiere date remains to be announced.
For now, production moving forward means Mystery Inc. is considerably closer to getting back in business.
And between a supernatural murder, an all-new origin story and the franchise’s first flesh-and-blood Scooby-Doo, Netflix clearly isn’t interested in simply recreating a version of the gang audiences have already seen.
Thomas Miller is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Seat42F, covering television, movies and streaming entertainment. He launched Seat42F in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades covering the entertainment industry.
