Netflix Casts McKenna Grace as Daphne in Live-Action Scooby-Doo Series

The live-action wave continues in Hollywood. The next animated property on the list is none other than Scooby-Doo — and it looks like the powers that be have found their first Mystery Gang member: Daphne.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s McKenna Grace will star as the iconic redheaded character in a prequel version of the classic cartoon series that will reveal how the gang got together in the first place. The series, which was greenlit at Netflix for eight episodes so far, has an official synopsis, according to Variety, which reads:

“During their final summer at camp, old friends Shaggy and Daphne (Grace) get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma, and the strange, but ever so handsome new kid, Freddy, they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets.”

According to the outlet, the show will be a “modern reimagining” of the 60s and 70s style original series, which first started airing in 1969.

Interestingly enough, this won’t be the first time Grace has taken on the role of Daphne. She lent her voice to the young version of the character in the 2020 animated movie Scoob!, and was even set to play the role again in the sequel film Scoob! Holiday Haunt before it was cancelled by Warner Bros. Discovery.

This also is not the first time a live-action Scooby-Doo reimagining made it to the big or small screen. Matthew Lillard starred in the 2002 film Scooby-Doo alongside Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Geller, and Linda Cardellini. It was such a hit that the movie got a sequel film two years later — so it’ll be interesting to see if this series has similar success.

Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg will write and showrun the series, while also serving as executive producers. However, there’s no release date for the reimagining just yet.

Image credit: Olivia Wong/FilmMagic

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.