Written by James Gunn and directed by Raja Gosnell, the first-ever live-action Scooby-Doo movie was released in 2002 to an impressive $275.7 million on an $84 million budget. Reviews weren't glowing, but the movie received a positive response from fans.
In 2004, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed - which boasted the same creative team - followed but made only $181.2 million (and reviews were once again largely negative). Gunn has been set to helm a third instalment, but it never happened and rumours have persisted ever since that it would have been R-Rated.
Gunn has said on multiple occasions that he'd be willing to finally making the threequel fans so desperately want but, as DC Studios co-CEO, he simply doesn't have enough time!
Taking to Threads (via Toonado.com) to make the sequel's 20th anniversary yesterday, the SUPERMAN and Guardians of the Galaxy director said, "20 years ago today Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (I was never a big fan of the title - I had named it simply Scooby-Doo Unleashed) was released in theaters."
"A great group of people - I made quite a few life long friends working on this project," he concluded.
Asked by a fan why another movie failed to materialise, Gunn added, "I had a deal to write and direct the third film but, although the second one was profitable, it wasn’t profitable to warrant a third feature. So I went and did Slither instead."
It's always fun to think about what might have been and a shame Gunn never got the opportunity to take charge of the Scooby-Doo franchise. As noted, a lot of people would like to see a follow-up to Monsters Unleashed but a full-blown reboot seems far more likely all these years later.
We recently caught up with Scooby-Doo star Matthew Lillard, who has since gone on to voice the character in animation, about his legacy as Shaggy.
"I’m really excited about [Scooby-Doo]. I can’t really talk about it yet, but there’s a new project I’m associated with that will allow kids to put themselves into a Scooby-Doo adventure," Lillard revealed. "That’s super fun. For me, that’s my day job. It’s my bread and butter."
"For me, being Shaggy for so many years and holding space for that part while honouring Casey Kasem, I know eventually I’ll pass that part to the next generation as he did. I’m honoured to do that for as long as they’ll have me. Scooby-Doo is always in cycle in some capacity or another. We’re either doing a cartoon or a movie or a commercial for something."
"There are a million different iterations of it and something is always in the works," he added. "I’ve had the privilege and honour of being that voice for the last 16 or 17 years, so I will hold on to that as long as I can."
Take a look at some BTS photos from Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed shared by Gunn below.