Zoinks! Can you believe this June marks the 20th anniversary of the first Scooby-Doo movie? While the animated adventures of Mystery Inc. and their meddling mutt have been entertaining audiences for generations, it’s the live-action take on the ghost-hunting gang that holds the most love for 2000s kids.
2002’s Scooby-Doo and its 2004 sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed might not be what you would call great films, but they’ve actually aged surprisingly well thanks to both the funny, irreverent scripts from future Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and the fan-favorite main cast.
Whatever else you think about these movies, it can’t be denied that the central foursome was perfectly cast in their roles, plus they were surrounded by some game A-listers willing to ham it up to bring the cartoon to life. But what are the stars of the Scooby-Doo franchise doing these days, 20 years later? Read on to find out, Mystery Maniacs.
Freddie Prinze Jr.
Bringing team leader Fred Jones to life in the movies was Freddie Prinze Jr, who dyed his naturally dark locks a platinum blonde to match the cartoon character. The She’s All That star was at the height of his late-’90s/early-’00s powers at the time, but in more recent years, Prinze has mostly stepped away from the spotlight to raise a family with co-star and wife Sarah Michelle Gellar.
The pair was already in a relationship during the first film, having met on 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer, and they ended up tying the knot the year the movie came out. These days, the couple has two children. Prinze’s recent most notable projects include voicing Kanan Jarrus on Star Wars: Rebels and appearing as a regular on the short-lived Punky Brewster reboot.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Seeing as she was most famous for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show about a group of teen monster hunters who call themselves the Scooby Gang, casting Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne Blake was a stroke of genius. Gellar brought a lot of humor to the somewhat ditsy Daphne, though her action-heroine credentials allowed her to subvert the character’s reputation as a damsel-in-distress, too.
Much like her husband, Gellar hasn’t been in too many major movies since her Scooby-Doo years, but she has been a mainstay of the small screen, appearing in everything from high-concept drama Ringer to comedy The Crazy Ones. Gellar also made a memorable cameo in The Big Bang Theory series finale and can currently be heard voicing Teela on Netflix’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation.
Matthew Lillard
As amazing as the rest of the cast members are, Matthew Lillard is the real MVP of the Scooby-Doo movies, as he not only recreated the character of Norville “Shaggy” Rogers from the cartoons to a T, he also managed to make us invest in Shaggy and Scoob’s adorable friendship, even though he was acting opposite a slightly freakish animated dog.
Out of all the cast members, then, Lillard is perhaps the one most associated with his role. That probably had something to do with the fact that he’s been the official voice actor for Shaggy in all Scooby-Doo productions, excepting 2020’s Scoob, since 2010. This June, Lillard embraced his status as the Shagster by teaming up with Airbnb to give folks the chance to win a stay in the actual Mystery Machine.
Lillard even hilariously referenced the Ultra Instinct Shaggy meme when tweeting about it.
Linda Cardellini
Linda Cardellini made for a terrific Velma Dinkley, as the actress nailed the character’s nasally voice and know-it-all ways but also brought a lot of vulnerability and insecurity to the part that made Velma all the more lovable. Oh, and, yes, her Velma was definitely gay, as Gunn has confirmed was always his intention.
Cardellini has arguably had the best post-Scooby-Doo career of the Mystery Inc. members — certainly the most prolific, anyway, as the actress never seems to be off the screen. On top of a recurring role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most recently in Hawkeye, she stars opposite Christina Applegate in Netflix’s smash-hit dramedy Dead to Me, which has its third and final season coming up.
Rowan Atkinson
Iconic British comedian Rowan Atkinson appeared in ’02’s Scooby-Doo as Emile Mondavarious, the eccentric owner of Spooky Island who — spoilers! — turns out to be Scooby’s evil nephew Scrappy in disguise.
Atkinson, known for his slapstick comedy characters, has continued to do his thing over the two decades since, notably starring in the spy-spoofing Johnny English trilogy. He’s also reprised his most beloved role in both 2009’s Mr. Bean’s Holiday and the landmark 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. The actor will soon be seen in upcoming comedy series Man vs. Bee, buzzing onto Netflix this June 24.
Isla Fisher
Scooby-Doo, in which she played Shaggy’s sweet-natured girlfriend Mary Jane, marked Isla Fisher’s big Hollywood break, and the Australian actress definitely managed to use it to launch a super-successful career in the industry. Fisher’s countless subsequent movies include Confessions of a Shopaholic, The Great Gatsby, and the Now You See Me duology. She also married comic Sacha Baron Cohen in 2010 and the pair have three children together.
Seth Green
Seth Green reteamed with former Buffy colleague Sarah Michelle Gellar for Monsters Unleashed, in which he played museum curator Patrick Wiseley, Velma’s love interest. Since then, Green has not only continued to voice Chris Griffin on the never-ending Family Guy, but he also created the equally immortal Robot Chicken, which has occasionally seen Gellar, Prince, and Cardellini reprise their roles as Scooby’s pals.
Alicia Silverstone
Clueless icon Alicia Silverstone co-starred in Monsters Unleashed as nosy reporter Heather Jasper-Howe, who is really Mystery Inc.’s old enemy Jonathan Jacobo. Silverstone has undergone something of a career renaissance in recent years, appearing in three movies in 2022 alone — Last Survivors, The Requin, and Senior Year. She also voices Queen Marlena in Masters of the Universe: Revelation, along with old co-star Gellar.
