Scooby-Doo 3
Scooby-Doo 3 was the tentative title for a proposed sequel in the live-action Scooby-Doo film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, following Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed in 2002 and 2004, respectively. It was written by James Gunn, who planned on directing, too.[1]
The gang visits a town in Scotland, where they find a community of real monsters as the victims, forcing Shaggy and Scooby to change their views.[2] In retrospect, Gunn was glad this didn't end up being his first film to direct, which ended up being Slither.
Production
Development
In October 2002, a few months after the first film had been released, as Warner Bros. was fast-tracking Scooby-Doo 2, they were planning ahead of a third Scooby-Doo film, securing Dan Forman and Paul Foley as the new writers, replacing the first two films' writers, James Gunn, after they impressed the studio of their rewrite of a potential live-action adaptation of The Jetsons.[3] When Scooby-Doo 2 was released, its box office earnings weren't as big as Warner Bros. expected, making less than the first film, leaving doubt that Warner Bros. would move forward with another sequel.[4] In August 2004, Matthew Lillard revealed that this was the case and that the next film had been canceled. He believed Scooby-Doo 2 was better than the first, but blamed the timing of Warner Bros. releasing the sequel, as thirteen movies were to follow after theirs.[5]
In 2020, James Gunn revealed he had made a deal in 2004 to write and direct, the latter of which would be his debut. He prepped by working as an apprentice director on the first two movies.[1]
Aftermath
Eventually, Warner Bros. launched Warner Premiere, who teamed up with Cartoon Network to produce an entirely new third movie which was to act as a prequel called Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, which acts as an origin story, but is hardly a prequel as it is set in modern-day 2009.
References
- ^ a b Ridgley, Charlie (March 16, 2020). "Scooby Doo: James Gunn Says He Was Set to Write and Direct Third Movie". Comic Book. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Gunn, James (April 1, 2020). "Tweet". Twitter via Internet Archive because Gunn deleted the tweet for some reason. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Linder, Brian (October 16, 2002). "Warners Wants Third Scoob". IGN. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Leydon, Joe (March 21, 2004). "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed". Variety. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ B., Brian (August 4, 2004). "Matthew Lillard says no Scooby Doo 3". MovieWeb. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
