Mystery Incorporated

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***Mystery Incorporated*** is an upcoming American live-action/computer animated supernatural horror comedy film based on the long-running Hanna-Barbera animated television franchise *Scooby-Doo*. A reboot of the *Scooby-Doo* live-action film series, it stars Zac Efron, Mandy Moore, Milana Vayntrub and Matthew Lillard as the titular group. The plot revolves around Mystery Incorporated who reunite after a ten-year disbandment to investigate a mystery at two of the members' wedding.

Principal photography began in July 2021 in New Hampshire with the film originally scheduled to release on August 18, 2023 on the Max streaming service. It is currently slated for an unspecified release in 2024.

## Synopsis

*"Fifteen years after the events of the original television series*, *the Mystery Inc. gang reunite for the wedding of Fred and Daphne when a terrifying poltergeist forces the group to continue their detective work in order to save the ceremony."*

## Plot

TBA

After high school, the members of Mystery Inc. went their separate ways and disbanded their crime solving troupe. Fred Jones accepted a scholarship to play football at Miskatonic University, Velma Dinkley accepted a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Daphne Blake entered and won the Miss America pageant before embarking on a fashion career and Shaggy Rogers gets a summer job at the Coolsville Splash Park concession stand. <br>

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Fred Jones would be injured during his junior year at Miskatonic, ending his chances of playing football professionally. He moves to New York where he finds a publisher for his memoir, From Catching Ghosts to Catching Bombs, the story of his time in Mystery Inc as well as his experiences on the field. <br>

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Velma Dinkley moves to California after graduating from MIT where she gets a job as a research assistant at Caltech. She meets and eventually begins dating Nora, a woman she met while on a tour of the Winchester Mansion. The two begin investigating reportedly haunted locations across California.<br>

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Daphne Blake entered and won the Miss America pageant before embarking on a fashion career. Daphne Blake fails to win Miss Universe but nevertheless embarks on a fashion career designing dresses that catch the eye of Alexander McQueen who convinces her to move to London. Her first runway presentation earns her an invitation to Milan Fashion Week.<br>

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Shaggy Rogers barely graduates from Coolsville High and without any college offers agrees to take a job working the concession stand at the local water park. Unmotivated to find anything better, Shaggy remains with the park working various jobs as a janitor, ticket taker and lifeguard before finally becoming the main attendant on the park's largest waterslide. <br>

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While on a book tour in Europe, Fred learns about Daphne's upcoming runway show and makes a point of attending. The two reconcile after the show and Daphne agrees to meet Fred back in New York at the conclusion of his tour. While in New York, their high school romance is rekindled and they quickly become engaged.<br>

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Fred and Daphne plan to get married in Honolulu and send invitations to their friends and family, including the former members of Mystery Inc. When the group is reunited at the airport, it is an emotional moment

## Cast

* Zac Efron as Fred Jones: An athletic and fashion conscious young man, the now 32-year old has transitioned from college football to the life a writer, going on a lecture tour to promote his memoir *From Catching Ghosts to Catching Bombs*, the story of his time in Mystery Inc as well as his experiences on the field. Zac Efron reprises his role from the 2020 animated film *Scoob!*.
* Mandy Moore as Daphne Blake-Jones: Former Miss America winner and Miss Universe runner-up, the now 31-year old resides in London as a renowned fashion designer known for her presence at Milan Fashion Week.
* Milana Vayntrub as Velma Dinkley: A graduate of MIT, the now 30-year old resides in Pasadena, California where she works as a research assistant at the California Institute of Technology while investigating reportedly haunted locations across California with her girlfriend Nova.
* Matthew Lillard as Norville "Shaggy" Rogers: A lazy but loving stoner, the now 32-year old still resides in his hometown of Coolsville, spending his summers working at the local water park and spending the rest of the year exploring New England with his loyal friend Scooby-Doo in a repainted Mystery Machine. Matthew Lillard reprises his role from the previous two live-action films and will be digitally de-aged by 20-years.
	+ Iain Armitage as young Shaggy
* Frank Welker as the Voice of Scooby-Doo
	+ Neil Fanning as the voice of young Scooby-Doo
* Awkwafina as Nova
* Amy Lee as Thorn
* Maria Brink as Dusk
* Rihanna as Luna
* Jess Harnell as Additional Voices

Additionally, Danny Pudi, Bobby Moynihan and Naomi Scott have been cast in undisclosed roles.

## Production

### Development

Raydon Entertainment had been working on a live-action *Scooby-Doo* film since 2016 with a draft being completed in early-2018 under the title of *Scooby-Doo in the Zombie Apocalypse* and was intended to be an R-rated adaptation of the 1998 animated film *Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island*. The script contained direct references to the films *Night of the Living Dead* and *World War Z*, as well as the television adaptation of *The Walking Dead*. The film's title and basic premise was inspired by a 2013 set of photos featuring a group of cosplayers as the Mystery Inc gang in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Photographer Jeff Zoet became aware of the film's existence in late-2018 and threatened to sue Raydon Entertainment over copyright infringement. The studio agreed to end development on the film in exchange for the lawsuit being dropped.

Despite abandoning their original concept, Raydon continued to develop a script for a potential *Scooby-Doo* film and in May 2020, a scriptment was completed entitled *Mystery Incorporated* that would keep the R-rating edge but replace the zombie apocalypse with a traditional story of a haunted bed and breakfast. The story was set 15 years after the events of *Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!* and was largely told from Shaggy's point-of-view. Raydon was extremely impressed with the pitch and green-lit the film, initially setting it up at their non-profit fan film division Fanatic Films while they worked on a pitch for Warner Bros.

Approximately one month following the home media release of *Scoob!* on July 21, 2020, Raydon Entertainment pitched *Mystery Incorporated* as a live-action reboot to the film series that could run in parallel with Warner Bros.' shared Hanna-Barbera animated multiverse. Warner Bros. liked the pitch and agreed to distribute the film if Raydon put up the production costs and if marketing was obvious that the film was not intended for younger audiences. Raydon subsequently moved the film from Fanatic Films to Moonlight Pictures in October 2020.

By May 2021, the film had moved divisions again, this time to Raydon's newly founded horror label Gravitas Studios and will be the studio's first film upon release in 2023.

On May 23, 2023, HBO Max relaunched as "Max", introducing a redesigned user interface, and adding more Discovery content among other new series and films. This change in platforms also led to *Mystery Incorporated* being removed from the release schedule entirely. The film was initially believed to be cancelled but on October 7, 2023, Gravitas Studios revealed the film was complete and was targeting a 2024 release.

### Casting

The May 2020 scriptment recommended the main cast consist of Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried reprising their roles as Fred and Daphne respectively from *Scoob!* and Kate Micucci and Matthew Lillard reprising their roles as Velma and Shaggy respectively from the various animated series.

In October 2020, veteran *Scooby-Doo* voice actor Frank Welker was announced to be reprising his role as Scooby-Doo, marking the first time the actor has voiced the character in a live-action capacity. Neil Fanning, the voice of Scooby-Doo in both *Scooby-Doo* and *Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed* will have a vocal cameo in the film.

In May 2021, the main cast was revealed, with Zac Efron reprising his role as Fred Jones from the 2020 animated film *Scoob!* and veteran voice actors Kate Micucci and Matthew Lillard reprising their roles as Velma Dinkley and Shaggy Rogers respectively. Micucci has been the voice of Velma since 2015 while Lillard has voiced Shaggy since 2009 and also portrayed the character in the two previous live-action films. Lillard was cast due to the studio believing "no other actor will ever be able to top what Matthew accomplished [and] we only hope to come close to [the previous] perfection." Later that month, Mandy Moore was cast as Daphne Blake-Jones. She is the only actor of the main cast to have never portrayed their character in any other form of *Scooby-Doo* media and replaces Amanda Seyfried from the original scriptment's recommended cast.

In June 2021, Awkwafina joined the cast as Nova, an original character invented for the film that will serve as a romantic interest for Velma who will be portrayed as openly gay in this film. Initial sources incorrectly reported that she would be portraying Marcie Fleach from the television series *Sooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated*. Awkwafina clarified in an interview for *The Whisper*, "my character is this new, really street smart but naïve ghost hunter living in Chinatown. She's gay and dating Velma which is really cool and I'm excited to get to showcase that on the big screen." Jess Harnell joined the cast to provide various voices for the ghosts and creatures featured in the film.

American rock band Sleater-Kinney were originally announced as having been cast as the fictional eco-goth rock band The Hex Girlsbut were later removed from the role for unknown reasons. Despite this, the group is still expected to contribute to the film's soundtrack. Amy Lee, Maria Brink and Rihanna have replaced Sleater-Kinney as the members of The Hex Girls.

Danny Pudi, Riki Lindhome, Ben Schwartz and Naomi Scott have also been cast in undisclosed roles.

### Filming

Principal photography began in July 2021 in New Hampshire and wrapped in early November. Additional photography took place between August and October 2022 in Massachusetts as well as Nova Scotia, Canada.

### Music

*Main article: Mystery Incorporated (soundtrack)*

Amy Lee, Maria Brink and Rihanna will perform the majority of the soundtrack in-character as The Hex Girls. Garfunkel and Oates, In This Moment and Evanescence will also contribute to the soundtrack.

## Release

*Mystery Incorporated* was initially scheduled to be released on HBO Max in the United States on August 18, 2023 and would be theatrically distributed internationally by Raydon Studios Motion Pictures. On May 23, 2023, the film was removed from the Max release schedule. The film is currently targeting a 2024 release.

## Future

Two television series follow-ups were previously in development for the HBO Max streaming service. *Crystal Cove* is a sequel series that would have reunited the Mystery Inc. gang for a vacation at the tourist trap town of Crystal Cove, where a nearby summer camp is suspiciously shutdown after a serious of unexplained events that the local police attempt to cover up. It would have been a crossover with the upcoming film *Crystal Lake*, retroactively establishing *Mystery Incorporated* as the first installment of the SlasherVerse. *The Marfa Murder Files*, is a spin-off series following Sheriff Brown as he investigates the earlier crimes of Bob Evans.