Scoob! Sequel Shelved By HBO Max
Warner Bros. Discovery is making some huge changes over at HBO Max, with one of the changes being the shelving of the Scoob! sequel. Scoob!: Holiday Haunt was a planned sequel for the 2020 film that ended up being released on HBO Max during the height of the pandemic. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to shelve the $40 million Scoob! Holiday Haunt. The DC film Batgirl is also getting the ax, even with its reported $90 million budget that ballooned due to COVID-19 reshoots. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has put a premium on only releasing big-budget films in theaters instead of HBO Max, a departure from Warner Bros.' previous regime.
Scoob! was a CG-animated prequel story that told the origin of Mystery, Inc., including the first meeting of Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, while also introducing various other members of the Hanna-Barbera universe, like Falcon and Captain Caveman, who made their theatrical feature film debut. In the movie, Scooby and the gang face their most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. As they race to stop this dogpocalypse, the gang discovers that Scooby has an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined.
The first look at Scoob!: Holiday Haunt was shown during an HBO Max teaser at the end of 2021. Scoob! director Tony Cervone confirmed a sequel was in the works, sharing his excitement for the project. "Actually, we are kicking the tires on a follow-up to Scoob!" Cervone revealed to Comic Book Movie. "It hasn't been announced yet, but it's something we're all excited about. The whole creative team that made the first movie is still around and back and working on something new. It was neat to create this Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe, and it's exciting to return to it."
As for Batgirl, the budget of the film grew to $90 million amid shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the project is ultimately not regarded to be the kind of "theatrical event film" that DC is looking to put out in the future. Still, all signs indicate the studio is "actively planning" to work with the film's star, Leslie Grace, as well as directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi.
The synopsis for Scoob!: Holiday Haunt reads: "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."