Animated 'Scooby-Doo' Movie Adds Zac Efron And Amanda Seyfried As Fred And Daphne

The animated Scooby-Doo movie in the works over at Warner Bros. Animation Group is picking up steam as the rest of Mystery Inc. has been cast. Fans of Scooby-Doo were a little shocked when Will Forte stepped up to voice Shaggy, replacing live-action Scooby-Doo movie star Matthew Lillard, who has been voicing the character in cartoons and animated movies since then. Meanwhile, they seem to be all right with Gina Rodriguez as Velma, but how will they feel about who's playing Fred and Daphne?

Deadline has word that Zac Efron has landed the role of Mystery Inc. leader Fred, known for his signature ascot. As for Daphne, she'll be played by Mamma Mia! star Amanda Seyfried. Both of their live-action personas makes it easy to picture them in these animated roles, but it remains to be seen if longtime fans of Scooby-Doo will be as accepting of new talents taking on the voices, especially if they don't sound close to the original incarnation of the beloved show.

On top of the new casting, it sounds like the film will officially be titled Scoob, which seems unnecessary. Keeping the full Scooby-Doo name in the title seems like an integral part of the branding, and there must be a better title out there. Plus, the title doesn't really give much of a hint as to how big of a deal this movie will be to sparking a Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe.

As we found out last time, Tracy Morgan landed the role of Captain Caveman, a character from another Hanna-Barbera cartoon who was never part of the Scooby-Doo universe. But this movie will have Mystery Inc. teaming up with other characters from adjacent cartoons in order to stop villain Dick Dastardly from doing something that threatens all the animated characters. It sounds like this could be The LEGO Movie of Hanna-Barbera cartoons, which could be pretty fun.

Scoob will be the first attempt at a big screen Scooby-Doo movie since the two live-action films in the mid-2000s. The film will have the good luck charm of Frank Welker voicing Scooby-Doo, which he's done since 2002. But he's been with the Scooby-Doo franchise since the beginning, having voiced Fred for a long time. So hopefully he'll be giving some pointers to Zac Efron.

Longtime Scooby-Doo director Tony Cervone will direct the movie, and it's slated to open on May 15, 2020.