It’s official, a new mystery for the Scooby-Doo franchise has begun. Netflix announced that its live-action series, Scooby-Doo: Origins, has started production.
The main cast has been confirmed as: McKenna Grace as Daphne Blake, Tanner Hagen as Shaggy Rogers, Abby Ryder Fortson as Velma Dinkley, and Maxwell Jenkins as Fred Jones. But a mystery remains: who exactly are these young stars taking on these iconic roles? Let’s learn more about the actors bringing the Scooby gang to life.
A brand new mystery
There’s a long legacy of Scooby-Doo media that has shown us the gang’s many adventures, but few adaptations have explained how the group came to be the bunch of meddling kids we know today. This new live-action series will do exactly that, taking viewers through the young gang’s first mystery.
The series will follow old friends Daphne and Shaggy at a summer camp as they team up with resident science enthusiast Velma and new kid Fred to solve a supernatural murder that a familiar, lonely Great Dane puppy witnessed. Netflix describes the eight-episode-long series as a “modern reimagining” of the gang’s origin.
Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg, who worked on adapting anime series Cowboy Bebop to live action for Netflix in 2021, will serve as writers and showrunners. Production has begun in Atlanta, but no official release date has been announced.
Daphne Blake
McKenna Grace
Established actress McKenna Grace will be taking on the role of Daphne Blake, known primarily for her iconic purple and green fashion and her red hair. But she’s much more than that; in each modern adaptation, she’s gained more autonomy, power, and depth to her character. She’s gone from “damsel in distress” trope to a crucial, driving member of the gang. This is part of why so many girls, like Grace herself, resonate deeply with the character.
Born in Texas, Grace has been acting since the age of five. Early in her career, she played the younger versions of main characters in popular movies and TV shows such as I, Tonya and Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House. Her first breakthrough role was as a child prodigy in the movie Gifted, which she starred in alongside Chris Evans.
Since then, Grace has stayed booked and busy. At the age of 19, she has amassed an impressive filmography, including three major horror franchises. She starred as Phoebe Spengler in two films from the rebooted Ghostbusters franchise, Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and its sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024). She is certainly no stranger to a whodunnit or the supernatural, also starring in Scream 7 this year and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 last Fall.
Grace and the Scooby-Doo Universe
Grace’s moment in a major on-screen role in the Scooby-Doo universe has been a long time coming. Not only did Grace provide the voice for a young Daphne in the 2020 animated movie Scoob!, but she also worked alongside Matthew Lillard in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, who portrayed Shaggy Rogers in the 2002 live-action Scooby-Doo adaptation. She told Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of Scream 7 when asked about whether she had told Matthew Lillard about the role, “He was actually—Other than, like, my family and like my two nearest and dearest. He was the first person I told.”
Grace has also expressed that taking on the role of Daphne is a childhood dream come true. She told the Hollywood Reporter at the 2026 Oscars, “I’m so excited. I’m so excited! I love Daphne. I dressed up as her for two or three Halloweens. I’m obsessed with Daphne; she’s my favorite character.”
With filming already underway, Grace is fully in character, revealing on her personal TikTok account in a video with over one million likes that she has swapped her signature blonde for Daphne’s iconic copper red blowout. In a recent post, she showed off her new hair, behind-the-scenes pictures of her and her co-stars on set, and, in true Daphne fashion, lots of purple accents in her outfits.
@mckennagrace straight up. 💜👩🏻🦰🔎🐕🌸 @Netflix ♬ original sound – ☁️
Shaggy Rogers
Tanner Hagen
21-year-old Hagen may have less experience in the film industry than some of his co-stars, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less ready to take on the role of the loveable, best bud of Scooby, Shaggy Rogers. Hagen’s on-screen work up until now has mostly been in short and independent films, but he made an appearance in one episode of the popular medical drama The Pitt in 2025.
A Minnesota native, Hagen first found his love for performance in dance at the age of five. His dancing earned him both regional and national titles. He was also part of the vocal group “FuturePops” from 2019 to 2023 and has appeared in many musical theatre productions throughout his life.
A triple threat, Hagen’s background across movement and voice will certainly help him bring Shaggy’s comedic body language and iconic laid-back, raspy tone to life. He wrote in a post on his personal Instagram, “ZOINKS! Like… is this even life? So incredibly grateful to be stepping into the shoes of the iconic Shaggy Rogers in the upcoming Netflix live-action series.
Velma Dinkley
Abby Ryder Fortson
Fortson, taking on the role of the group’s intelligent and resourceful lead sleuth, Velma Dinkley, actually shares an acting credit with co-star Hagen. She appeared in four episodes of The Pitt in 2025 as Kristi Wheeler.
Like her co-star Grace, she has been acting since a young age and has appeared in multiple blockbuster films. She is best known for portraying young Cassie Lang in Marvel’s Ant-Man movie series and for her role as the titular character in the book-to-film adaptation of the beloved Judy Blume novel Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, alongside Rachel McAdams. Her compelling performance as Margaret earned a Sierra Award at the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards and multiple accolades, including “Breakthrough Artist” at the 2023 San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.
Born and raised in Burbank, California, she is the daughter of actress Christie Lynn Smith and director John Fortson. Fortson actually starred alongside both her parents in the 2016 short film Rated, which her father also directed. The short film has been turned into a feature-length film, also starring Fortson, which her father announced on Instagram will be released sometime this year.
Back in 2019, The Hollywood Reporter named Fortson one of “Hollywood’s Top 30 Stars Under Age 18.” Now, Fortson is 18, but at the time she was recognized, she was just 11 years old. Her co-star Grace actually made the Hollywood Reporter’s list the year before.
Fortson took to her Instagram to express her admiration for her co-stars, captioning a sweet snap of the group of four on set, “Jinkies! How I love this gang! XO”
Fred Jones
Maxwell Jenkins
21-year-old Maxwell Jenkins will be adding a credit as the charismatic, lovable Fred Jones to his already long list of acting credits. This is not Jenkins’ first time working with Netflix. He is best known for his portrayal of Will Robinson in the Netflix series Lost in Space over three seasons between 2018 and 2021.
Born and raised in Chicago, Jenkins spent his childhood working with his parents’ non-profit organization, Midnight Circus, a traveling group of performers that brings circus acts to the greater Chicago area. Jenkins began performing for Midnight Circus at the age of three, doing acts such as juggling and tightrope walking.
His most recent on-screen works include starring in the 2024 post-apocalyptic movie Arcadian alongside Nicholas Cage and in the 2025 Prime Video series The Bondsman alongside Kevin Bacon. He has also made appearances on Chicago Med and Chicago Fire.
Like his co-star Hagen, Jenkins has a strong background in music. He can play the mandolin, guitar, bass guitar, violin, and drums, and also sings.
Jenkins currently attends the University of California, Los Angeles, where he is majoring in Global Studies and minoring in Film and Media Studies. He is also a member of the university’s cheerleading team.
Jenkins recently shared a photo dump on his Instagram, featuring set flicks, hanging out with co-stars and his family, and the process of dyeing his hair for the role. The cover photo shows Jenkins with freshly bleached-blonde hair, sitting in front of a trailer door labeled “Fred.”
A gang Scooby himself would approve of
These incredibly talented young stars come from a range of experiences and backgrounds, forming an ensemble in which each individual brings their unique personality and skills to the table, just like the Scooby gang. Evidently, through their admiration for the source material and how they’ve already demonstrated their strong bond with one another on social media, it’s clear they carry what’s critical to doing Scooby-Doo justice: friendship and respect for the legacy they are building on.
I think this cast will do a wonderful job of honoring the original characters, while still making it their own. I am so excited to see how this adaptation breathes new life into one of my favorite franchises, and hopefully, it can draw in both new audiences and die-hard fans like me into a compelling new mystery.
