Longtime Scooby-Doo actor Matthew Lillard has been replaced as Shaggy in an upcoming theatrical film, and he’s just as surprised as the rest of us. Recently, Warner Bros. announced some of the new voice cast for an upcoming animated Scooby-Doo movie, set to hit theaters everywhere next year. Among them includes The Last Man on Earth star Will Forte as the voice of Shaggy, effectively replacing veteran voice actor Matthew Lillard in the role. For any Scooby-Doo fan, this news was certainly surprising to see, but even more so for Lillard, as this was how he learned he was being replaced for the franchise’s return to theaters.
Retweeting the news on his Twitter account, Lillard commented “this sucks,” adding that it was a “crappy way to find out” he wasn’t a part of the new film. Lillard has been playing the role since 2002 when he was cast as Shaggy in the live-action Scooby-Doo movie and its 2004 sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. He went on to provide the voice of the character in every animated film, TV, and video game appearance for Shaggy since 2010, after Casey Kasem retired from the role.
Well this sucks.
What a crappy way to find out…. thanks Hollywood. You never sense to amaze me. https://t.co/QDdlMAqlrZ— matthew lillard (@MatthewLillard) March 2, 2019
The new movie will reportedly involve Mystery Inc. teaming up with other characters from other Hanna-Barbera cartoons to solve a new mystery. Also confirmed in the cast are Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) as Velma, BLANK as Daphne, and Tracy Morgan as Captain Caveman. Frank Welker, who has been providing voicing Fred since the franchise’s 1969 inception (and later Scooby-Doo as well), will be voicing Scooby-Doo in the movie. It’s not yet confirmed if he’ll be voicing Fred once again as well.
Lillard most recently voiced Shaggy in the direct-to-video Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost, which was just released this month. However, the upcoming with Forte as Shaggy will be the first theatrical release for the franchise since Monster Unleashed in 2004. For Lillard and his fans, it’s certainly a bummer to see the character inexplicably replaced with a new actor, especially considering another veteran actor is staying on board. As excellent an actor as Forte is, chances are the reboot movie’s Shaggy is just going to sound a little bit off.
While Lillard may potentially still voice Shaggy in other home video or video game releases, replacing him for the theatrical film seems like a major jerk move. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all turn out.
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It sucks the way he found out the news, but I never liked Lillard’s version of Shaggy. He always sounded like he couldn’t quite make Shaggy’s voice sound high enough.