Turns out James Gunn did write an R-rated version of Scooby-Doo, Matthew Lillard has confirmed – but it didn't see the light of day because parents didn't dig it in the live-action adaptation's screen tests.
"I'm a product of a lot of those jokes," the actor, who recently reprised his role as the one of the franchise's original Ghostface killers Stu Macher in Scream 7, told Entertainment Tonight. "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." Check it out below.
Matthew Lillard confirms there was indeed an R-rated version of 'Scooby-Doo.' 😂 pic.twitter.com/B6jcP64gg5February 28, 2026
Written by Gunn and directed by Raja Gosnell, Scooby-Doo follows the snack-loving Great Dane and his crime-solving best pals Shaggy (Lillard), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardellini) and Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr.) as they travel to a horror-themed tropical island resort to investigate a series of paranormal events.
While it was panned critically (it currently holds a 32% Rotten Tomatoes score), it made a decent-enough $275 million at the global box office and went on to spawn a sequel: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed in 2004.
When asked by ET whether or not he'd like to be involved in Netflix's upcoming Scooby-Doo series, in which his Scream 7 co-star McKenna Grace has just been cast a member of Mystery Inc, Lillard candidly 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."
For more, check out our picks of the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.
