Warner Bros. is finally revving up the Mystery Machine again. After several rumors in the past, Scooby-Doo and the rest of the gang are coming back to the big screen. Thankfully, it will be in animated form this time.
The studio formally announced the project on Monday, scheduling it for release on Sept. 21, 2018. It will be produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, who recently produced American Hustle and also produced the two live-action Scooby-Doo films. Allison Abbate (The Iron Giant, Frankenweenie) will co-produce.
Tony Cervone, who worked on recent Scooby-Doo TV projects, will direct. Dan Povenmire (Phineas and Ferb) will be executive producer. The script was written by Matt Lieberman (Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief).
“It’s always a treat to see Scooby-Doo on the big screen and to share his larger-than-life adventures with audiences,” Dan Fellman, President of Warner Bros. Domestic Distribution, said in a statement. “As anticipation grows throughout production, the movie’s mid-September release date should start the fall season with a burst of fun.”
The new film will be produced by Warner Animation Group.
The news isn’t a complete surprise, since we’ve been hearing about a new Scooby movie for a long time. In August 2013, Lieberman was assigned to write the script, but then there was news in June 2014 that an inexperienced writer named Randall Green was picked to write. Obviously, the studio is going with Lieberman’s script instead.
Scooby, Shaggy and the rest of the Mystery Machine gang debuted in 1969 in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. The characters hit the big screen in 2002 and in 2004.