In an unprecedented move, Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly cancelling two feature films for HBO Max, both of which were almost finished, in an effort to save money. Batgirl, the DC film starring Leslie Grace, was a $90 million feature film in the final stages of post-production before reports arrived on Tuesday that Warner Bros. Discovery won’t be releasing it at all. Scoob!: Holiday Haunt, a sequel to 2020’s Scoob!, has reportedly also been canned, and it was another film very close to becoming a finished product.
Last week, Scoob!: Holiday Haunt director Michael Kurinsky explained on a podcast that the film was getting “very close to wrapping up,” and that animation had already been completed. You can check out the clip from Kurinsky’s interview below.
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“I can’t wait for everybody to see it. We’re getting very close to wrapping it up,” Kurinsky explains. “We actually just completed animation on Friday, just this past Friday. We still have a lot of lighting and things to do on it, so there is a bit of work left, but we are definitely in the home stretch and we are really excited to get it finished and share it with everybody.”
After the news of the film’s cancellation arrived on Tuesday, producer and writer Tony Cervone confirmed that work on Holiday Haunt was almost completely finished.
“Yes I am afraid this is true,” Cervone wrote in a post on Instagram Tuesday evening. “The movie is practically finished and turned out beautifully. I am beyond heartbroken.”
Holiday Haunt was set to star Frank Welker, Iain Armitage, Ariana Greenblatt, McKenna Grace, Pierce Gagnon, Mark Hamill, Cristo Fernandez, Micheal McKean, Andre Braugher, and Ming-Na Wen. You can check out the official synopsis below.
“To celebrate Scooby Doo’s first Christmas, 10-year-old Shaggy and the gang take him to a holiday-themed resort owned by Fred’s favorite Uncle Ned. When the park is beset by a ghostly haunting, the kids must solve a 40-year-old mystery to save the resort and show Scooby the true meaning of Christmas.”
Are you disappointed to see the new Scoob! movie shelved? Let us know in the comments!
