Daphne and Velma from ‘Scooby-Doo’ are Getting Their Own Movie

The girls of Mystery, Inc. will star in a prequel film set in their teen years.
Daphne Velma Scooby Doo

The girls of Mystery, Inc. will star in a prequel film set in their teen years.

Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley from the Scooby-Doo franchise will headline a live-action origin story, per VarietyAshley Tisdale‘s Blondie Girl Productions will bring these girls to life, focusing on a time before they met Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo.

A Daphne and Velma prequel isn’t as random as one might think, even if it comes out of nowhere. These days, with American childhood classics like the Archie Comics coming to life onscreen, it’s no surprise that Tisdale and Blondie Girl — in conjunction with Warner Bros’ Blue Ribbon Content — are taking a chance with Daphne and Velma. Tisdale and her sister, Jennifer (who co-owns Blondie Girl), released a joint statement further clarifying their commitment to telling stories from women’s and girls’ perspectives, which can only be a good thing in the industry right now.

“Blondie Girl is committed to telling stories from a female perspective and we could not be more thrilled to give Daphne and Velma their own story,” the Tisdales say. “It’s so exciting to partner with Warner Home Entertainment and Blue Ribbon Content to introduce a new generation to the smart, charismatic, fearless females that we all know and love.”

Sarah Jeffery (Shades of Blue) and Sarah Gilman (Last Man Standing) star as Daphne and Velma respectively, and the direct-to-video film is currently already in production in Atlanta. Suzi Yoonessi takes up directorial duties from a script by Kyle Mack and Caitlin Meares.

Daphne and Velma will be getting a 21st-century update, as expected from just about any rehash of the good old days. We’re getting it with Heathers and obviously Riverdale, and it would be presumptuous to think that a “new take on these two familiar faces” (per Said Peter Girardi of Blue Ribbon Content) wouldn’t also include smartphones, the Internet, and most likely several meme references in between the creepy crime-solving. Here’s the full synopsis, courtesy of Deadline:

“Before their eventual team-up with Scooby and the gang, bright and optimistic Daphne and whip-smart and analytical Velma are both mystery-solving teens who are best friends but have only met online — until now. Daphne has just transferred to Velma’s school, Ridge Valley High, a tech-savvy institute with all the latest gadgets provided by the school’s benefactor, tech billionaire Tobias Bloom. And while competition is fierce among the students for a coveted internship at Bloom Innovative, Daphne and Velma dig beyond all the gadgets and tech to investigate what is causing some of the brightest students in school to disappear — only to emerge again in a zombie-fied state.”

I have no gauge on whether this Daphne and Velma prequel sounds like a great idea or a horrendous one. It just sounds like a lot of teen-centric media coming out of the woodwork these days and it would be better to reserve that judgment. The old live-action Scooby-Doo films starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Linda Cardellini as Daphne and Velma will always have a place in my nostalgic heart, so there is that standard to live up to. The real draw is the focus on a great female team-up, which I’m hoping the new prequel will focus a lot more on.

Sheryl Oh: Sheryl Oh often finds herself fascinated (and let's be real, a little obsessed) with actors and their onscreen accomplishments, developing Film School Rejects' Filmographies column as a passion project. She's not very good at Twitter but find her at @sherhorowitz anyway. (She/Her)