Freddie Prinze Jr. regrets his Scooby-Doo movie appearances. Prinze Jr. appeared as Mystery Inc. team leader Fred in both 2002’s live-action Scooby-Doo and its 2004 follow-up Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. As of yet, there has not been a third sequel announced for the live-action Scooby-Doo movies, with the original threequel scrapped following its predecessor's poor performance, though the franchise is expanding due to recent animated film Scoob! and the animated series Velma.
Now, Prinze Jr. reveals to People that he would not return to Scooby-Doo were there to be another film. The Fred actor chalks this up to bad on-set experiences consisting of dishonesty from the studio and a lack of “straightforwardness", even going so far as to say he regrets appearing in the first two movies. See what Prinze Jr. shared below:
"It wouldn't be for me, man. There was too much bait-and-switch on the first one. The studio was not honest with me in any way, shape or form. They were not straightforward. I've been on two jobs where I've had regret doing it, and Scooby was one of them."
Could Freddie Prinze Jr. Change His Mind About Scooby-Doo 3?
While Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed were far from critical darlings, the live-action adaptations have developed cult followings since their releases. More recently, the movies got attention due to news surrounding a cut kiss between Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Daphne and Linda Cardellini’s Velma in the 2002 movie. Had this moment made the final cut of the film, this would have confirmed Velma’s long-suspected queerness long before Velma or Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! did.
That being said, the future of a potential Scooby-Doo 3 is doubtful. A sequel, which would've been written and directed by James Gunn after penning the first two installments, has been proposed and shut down multiple times. Prinze Jr. is a keystone of the iconic cast of the Scooby-Doo movies, and though the cast members may have aged out of their characters for some audiences' eyes, it would be hard to imagine a live-action Scooby-Doo without them, especially considering Matthew Lillard has continued to voice Shaggy since 2005.
With how strong his regrets are for the franchise, it seems unlikely Prinze Jr. will reverse his decision not to return for more Scooby-Doo movies. Even before his most recent Scooby-Doo statement, Prinze has cited unjust wage differences between him and his co-stars. Already upset and having declared his quitting from the Scooby-Doo franchise, the original live-action Fred will assuredly not take the screen again even if Scooby-Doo 3 eventually gets greenlit.
Source: People