‘Scoob!’: Freddie Prinze Jr. Wasn’t Upset About Getting Replaced in ‘Scooby-Doo’ Reboot: ‘It’s Just Show Business’
What’s old is new again in Hollywood. These days reboots and revivals of beloved TV shows and movies are happening left and right. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is joining the likes of Gilmore Girls, Charlie’s Angels, and Veronica Mars. The latest incarnation of the classic Hanna-Barbera series is Scoob!, an animated movie about how the Scooby gang first met. But Freddie Prinze Jr., who played Fred in the early 2000s, isn’t involved in the 2020 reboot. And no, he’s not upset about getting replaced as the iconic character.
Freddie Prinze Jr. first played Fred in 2002’s ‘Scooby-Doo’
According to IMDb, a year after he played a baseball player in 2001’s Summer Catch opposite Jessica Biel, Prinze Jr. returned to the big screen to play Fred in Scooby-Doo, a live-action comedy about Scooby-Doo and the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang directed by Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn.
Prinze Jr. starred in the film with other young actors in Hollywood at the time. His real-life wife, Sarah Michelle Gellar, played his on-screen love interest, Daphne, and Dead to Me’s Linda Cardellini took on the role of Velma while Matthew Lillard played Shaggy.
He reprised the role in a sequel
Scooby-Doo left something to be desired for critics and it had some problems with CGI but the film performed well enough at the box office to get a sequel.
In 2004, Prinze Jr., and the rest of the gang reunited in Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed. There were plans to make a third film but Warner Bros. pulled the plug on the idea after the sequel got a lukewarm reception.
Freddie Prinze Jr. called ‘Scoob!’ recasting ‘just business’
When Warner Bros. announced the Scoob! cast in 2019, Prinze Jr. responded to fans who had expressed their disappointment on Twitter. According to Comicbook, the actor responded directly to a fan after they commented the film wouldn’t be the same without him as Fred and Lillard as Shaggy.
“Nah man, it’s just show business,” Prinze Jr. said. “Which word is bigger? They simply want to bring the franchise to the next generation with actors they think will get the most eyeballs. It’s just business. Always has been, always will be. I don’t take that stuff personally.”
Judging by his response, Prinze Jr. probably didn’t lose any sleep over the recasting. Who did Warner Bros. decide to cast in Scoob! instead of the Prinze Jr. and the rest of the actors who starred int he early 2000s movies? Zac Efron (Fred), Frank Welker (Scooby), Will Forte (Shaggy), Amanda Seyfried (Daphne), and Gina Rodriguez (Velma).
Matthew Lillard on ‘Scoob!’ recasting: ‘This sucks’
According to Comicbook, Lillard found out Forte would be playing Shaggy in Scoob! via Twitter. His reaction differed greatly from Prinze Jr.’s.
“Well this sucks,” Lillard tweeted on March 2, 2019. “What a crappy way to find out… thanks Hollywood. You never sense [sic] to amaze me.”
In addition to playing Shaggy in the early 2000s, Lillard had been voicing the character since 2009.
