TV

Netflix to Revive an Iconic 1969 Cartoon Series (Even Though Nobody Asked)

Netflix to Revive an Iconic 1969 Cartoon Series (Even Though Nobody Asked)
Image credit: Legion-Media, Warner Bros.

Attention millennials, your childhood is coming back.

Summary:

  • Good news is coming in for all millennials and gen Z representatives as Netflix has just confirmed to start working on a reboot of a very popular cartoon from the 1960s.
  • Having had numerous installments of all types throughout the years, the story initially follows a group of detective teenagers accompanied by a dog with very specific traits.
  • Though originally being a cartoon, the famous story got several successful live-action movies before Netflix came up with the idea to make something else like this.

Seems like the question “Scooby-Doo, where are you?” soon will become very unnecessary — we know that it’ll be on Netflix.

The recent news concerning the fan-favorite cartoon franchise has just made it officially clear that Netflix is planning a big live-action reboot for Scooby-Doo’s story. The previous attempt to revive the story of detective teenagers with a troublemaking dog was made by HBO back in 2023 and eventually turned out to be a flop.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, for Scooby-Doo's new installment Netflix is teaming up with its frequent writer and producer Greg Berlanti famous for his work on the streaming’s hits like Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and You.

No significant details about the upcoming remake have been revealed yet, but the show is described as “live-action update of the classic cartoon” thus making it unclear whether it will have connections with other live-action installments of Hanna-Barbera’s beloved story.

Though the first thing that pops up in everyone’s head while thinking about Scooby-Doo is its animated version that has always been there ever since the 1960s, the famous franchise got two relatively successful live-action movies under its belt.

Netflix to Revive an Iconic 1969 Cartoon Series (Even Though Nobody Asked) - image 1
Scooby-Doo (2002)

Will the New Scooby-Doo Be Better Than All the Previous Adaptations?

The first film, simply called Scooby-Doo, was released back in 2002 and showed all the main characters reunite after two-year-break from their mystery-solving activity to find out what was happening at a creepy tropical island resort run by not less creepy Mondavarious, portrayed by Rowan Atkinson.

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, the second installment also written by DC’s director James Gunn, became the first movie’s sequel and followed the same group of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and their talking dog Scooby trying to deal with all the weird events happening at an exhibition at the Coolsonian Criminology Museum.

Netflix to Revive an Iconic 1969 Cartoon Series (Even Though Nobody Asked) - image 2
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)

The second film, just like before, stars Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard and Neil Fanning voicing Scooby-Doo.

The franchise’s expansion news comes soon after the release of HBO’s Velma’s season 2 on April 25 and, concerning the latter’s reputation, a new installment will be pretty much needed.

The adult animated show follows Velma Dinkley’s life before she became a part of Mystery Inc. becoming thus the first series that never got to feature Scooby-Doo himself. The show was eventually heavily criticized, landing a score of only 39% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Though it may sound weird, Netflix's brand new idea may indeed become a breath of fresh air for the story that, despite it all, actually never lost a grain of its immense popularity.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter