Matthew Lillard confirmed that James Gunn wrote an R-rated version of the live-action Scooby-Doo, but the material never reached audiences because parents reacted poorly in screen tests, the actor said to Entertainment Tonight.
Speaking about the unused material, Lillard said, “I’m a product of a lot of those jokes.” He added, “Can you make that parents like and can catch a joke or two above the kids’ heads? That’s a James Gunn specialty… Frankly, it was very funny and I do think that that movie would’ve been a huge hit as well. But when they tested it, some of the parents were like, ‘Hm, I don’t know if we need that level of joke.’” The brief clip of Lillard’s remarks is available on Matthew Lillard on X.
Matthew Lillard confirms there was indeed an R-rated version of 'Scooby-Doo.' 😂 pic.twitter.com/B6jcP64gg5
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) February 28, 2026
The 2002 live-action Scooby-Doo was written by James Gunn and directed by Raja Gosnell. It follows Scooby and the Mystery Inc. gang, Shaggy, played by Lillard; Daphne, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar; Velma, played by Linda Cardellini; and Fred, played by Freddie Prinze Jr. as they travel to a horror-themed tropical island resort to investigate apparent paranormal events. The film currently holds a 32% Rotten Tomatoes score and grossed $275 million worldwide, per GamesRadar.
The movie went on to spawn a sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, in 2004. Lillard has since returned to horror franchise work, recently reprising his role as Stu Macher, one of the franchise’s original Ghostface killers, in Scream 7. When Entertainment Tonight asked whether he would want to appear in Netflix’s upcoming Scooby-Doo series, Lillard replied, “It’s not about you, it’s about the part. It’s not about you, it’s about the franchise. It’s not about you, it’s about those kids that are introduced to their first look at horror movies. When they’re sitting there as young people, they’re experiencing these things for the first time. So your job is to be the best possible version of that character.” The series recently added McKenna Grace to the cast as a member of Mystery Inc.
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