2025 has been something of a banner year for Matthew Lillard, who reprised one villainous role for the critical anti-darling Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, then reprised a seemingly dead villain for the upcoming horror movie Scream 7, and even popped up in an Ice Nine Kills music video to promote his premium liquor brand Find Familiar Spirits. Unfortunately, he won’t be reprising his long-held role of mystery-solver Shaggy for Netflix’s upcoming live-action Scooby-Doo series.
Considering he’s played the stoner-esque character for well over 20 years now, first in the pair of James Gunn features and then in a plethora of animated movies, series and video games, Lillard’s pedigree with Shaggy is second only to the great Casey Kasem. Understandably, he has some sage wisdom for the younger actor who inevitably steps into the role of Mystery Incorporated’s most gluttonous human, complete with a comparison to the legacy of Star Wars characters.
Speaking with Polygon, the Life of Chuck actor admits that the globally recognized gig comes with a ton of pressure and expectations, but says one of the key things for the new actor to keep in mind is to deliver the performance that they are most proud of, since that’s what matters most in the end. Lillard shared:
If you're in Star Wars, there's an added responsibility. You are so important to people. Scooby-Doo has that kind of fandom in which we are but caretakers of something much bigger than us, something people watched with their grandfather and grandmother, who have now gone.
To that end, Hanna-Barbera debuted Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? all the way back in 1969, likely not anticipating these characters to live on across dozens of projects over the next 55 years and counting. Many generations of family grew up with and raised their kids on Scooby-Doo cartoons, myself included on both sides of that equation. It's not as if new series will make or break my happiness, but it is disappointing when new projects don't hook me. (Speaking of Star Wars comparisons...)
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That's mostly just talking about animated projects, too. Live-action takes on toons can spark a wholly separate level of fan rage if not handled correctly. There's a good chance that Netflix's new Scooby-Doo series could be the entry to this franchise for thousands (or millions?) of younger audiences, so there's much pressure to deliver on all fronts in the way that Wednesday has for the Addams Family.
Matthew Lillard also shared some solid advice that a lot of actors only end up coming to realize later in life, saying:
We are caretakers of a character that goes way beyond who we are, and that's the only thing that's important. Do your best job to represent your version of him, and at some point, you know, you're going to be in public and some kid's going to call you Shaggy — and understanding that's a badge of honor rather than anything else.
So often, actors in their teens and 20s take on an iconic role without the big-picture understanding that they will forever be connected with that character to millions of people the world over, and that embracing that from the jump will only help. The number of actors who've attempted to distance themselves from specific parts, only to regret it years later upon appreciating the fandom, grows all the time. Especially when it comes to projects involving comic books, cartoons, and...Star Wars.
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford weren't always so eager to embrace the mantles and legacies of their respective heroes in the years post-Return of the Jedi. Matthew Lillard thought Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed's poor box office killed his career, so at least he would have had some motivation to be angsty about ever saying "Zoinks!" again.
As a lifelong fan of the Doo Clue Crew — I know nobody calls them that — I'm as open-minded and optimistic as can be for whatever Netflix is cooking up alongside Warner Bros. It would go a long way if co-developers Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg would take a page from Mystery Incorporated by bringing the parents heavily into the stories, allowing for Matthew Lillard to play Shaggy's father in whatever capacity.
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