As a Scooby-Doo fan, I think it’s safe to say my life is finally complete. And if you’re the same way, I’m willing to bet yours is too.
According to Variety, actresses Sarah Jeffrey and Sarah Gilman have been tapped to play two very iconic Scooby-Doo characters in next year’s Daphne and Velma.
It’s a live-action film which will follow the two female sleuths before they met up with and joined Mystery Inc.
“The mystery-solving teens are best friends but have only met online — until Daphne transfers to Velma’s school, Ridge Valley High, stocked with high-tech gadgetry by the school’s benefactor, tech billionaire Tobias Bloom. While their peers vie for a coveted internship at Bloom’s company, Daphne and Velma try to uncover the reason why the school’s brightest students are disappearing — only to emerge again in a zombie-fied state.”
The press release for the film is as follows:
Warner Bros. Television Group’s digital studio Blue Ribbon Content is currently in production on “Daphne and Velma,” a live-action feature-length film reimagining the origins of Mystery Inc.’s fierce female duo, Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley. From Ashley Tisdale and Jennifer Tisdale’s Blondie Girl Productions, the film, currently shooting in Atlanta, will be released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in 2018.
“Blondie Girl is committed to telling stories from a female perspective and we could not be more thrilled to give Daphne and Velma their own story,” said Ashley Tisdale and Jennifer Tisdale, producers and founders of Blondie Girl Productions. “It’s so exciting to partner with Warner Home Entertainment and Blue Ribbon Content to introduce a new generation to the smart, charismatic, fearless females that we all know and love.”
“We wanted to give the audience a new take on these two familiar faces, who are fan favorites in the Scooby-Doo universe,” said Peter Girardi, Executive Vice President, Blue Ribbon Content & Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, Warner Bros. Animation. “Daphne and Velma are two iconic and strong female characters, and this latest adventure of theirs will be both inspiring and entertaining for the audience.”
While the zombie subplot seems reminiscent of films like The Faculty or Disturbing Behavior, I’m interested to see how they recreate it with the atmosphere of a Scooby-Doo spin-off. If done correctly, it could be a very dark and spooky film for fans of the franchise to appreciate. And after all, zombies worked pretty well with Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. So who knows where this live-action spin-off could take us?
After all, James Gunn, writer of the first Scooby-Doo live-action movie, said his 2004 film was initially Rated-R:
“I had written an edgier film geared toward older kids and adults, and the studio ended pushing it into an clean cut children’s film. And, yes, the rumors are true — the first cut was rated R by the MPAA, and the female stars’ cleavage was CGI’d away so as not to offend. But, you know, such is life. I had a lot of fun making this movie, regardless of all that. And I was also able to eat, buy a car, and a house because of it.”
Jennifer and Ashley Tisdale’s Blondie Girl Productions and Warner Bros. Television Group’s Blue Ribbon Content digital studio will be producing the film.
The film has already started filming, with a 2018 release date.
What do you think of the Daphne and Velma spin-off movie? Are you excited? Let us know in the comments section down below!