Matthew Lillard returns as Shaggy for new Scooby-Doo series
Scooby-Doo fan favourite Matthew Lillard is returning as Shaggy for a new animated series.
Matthew Lillard is returning as Shaggy in a new Scooby-Doo anime.
Free streaming giant Tubi has announced plans for the long running franchise's first ever anime series via Warner Bros. Animation, with Japan's OLM Studios providing production services, while Itsuro Kawasaki will direct.
Matthew, who played Shaggy Rogers in the 2002 live action Scooby-Doo movie, will reprise the role for the new project, while Frank Welker is back as the titular Great Dane.
Yokoso Scooby-Doo! will see the duo visit Japan for the "ultimate foodie adventure".
The show's logline continues: "[There,] they unwittingly unleash hundreds of mythical monsters that are causing trouble across the country.
"With the help of Scooby’s uncle, Daisuke-Doo, along with new friends, magical girl Yume and gadget whiz Takumi, the group embarks on an all-new mystery filled with monster chasing and fun chaos.”
The series will air on Tubi in the US, and Cartoon Network around the world.
Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, said in a statement: "Welcome to Mystery Inc., Tubi.
"We’re excited to partner on this next chapter as we push the Scooby-Doo franchise forward with its first-ever original anime series.
"Alongside the amazing artists at OLM, we’ll unmask a new batch of mysteries, signature hijinks, and — of course — plenty of Scooby Snacks, all brought to life through the dynamic artistry of anime.”
Tubi chief content officer Adam Lewinson promised that the upcoming shoe will "reinvent" Scooby-Do like never before.
He added: “Scooby-Doo is one of the most beloved franchises in entertainment, and Yokoso Scooby-Doo! lets us reinvent it in a way fans haven’t seen before.
“By bringing Scooby and Shaggy into a bold anime world set in Japan, we’re connecting with global fandoms and delivering the kind of fun, chaotic mystery that travels across generations.
"As we grow our animation slate, this is exactly our brand of fan-first storytelling — familiar, surprising, and unmistakably Tubi.”
Matthew had previously called for another animated series for the current generation of children.
In March, he told Entertainment Weekly: "I think that the show needs to come back.
"We haven't done an animated series now in years, which I think is horrible. I think that it's a great way for kids to understand storytelling.
"It's the first introduction to ghost stories for a lot of kids, right?"
As well as the anime project, Scooby-Doo fans are also looking forward to Netflix's live action Scooby-Doo: Origins series.
The show started filming last month, and will tell the story of how Mystery Inc. was formed.
Mckenna Grace has first announced as Daphne Blake, with the rest of the cast featuring Tanner Hagen as Shaggy, Abby Ryder Forston as Velma Dinkley and Maxwell Jenkins as Fred Jones.
The series - described by Netflix as a "modern reimagining of the beloved franchise" - will explore how the teenage mystery solving team "first teamed up", starting with old friends Shaggy and Daphne during "their final summer at camp".
In a press release, the streamer teased: "The two get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have witnessed a supernatural murder.
"With help from the pragmatic and scientific townie Velma and the strange but ever-so-handsome new kid Freddy, they set out to solve the case that’s pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets."
The Scooby-Doo cartoon first launched in 1969 as part of the CBS Saturday morning line-up, going onto span three movies, almost 40 animated home video films, and over a dozen animated series.
