McKenna Grace is returning to the world of Mystery, Inc., this time in live action. The actor has been cast as Daphne Blake in Netflix’s upcoming Scooby-Doo series. The series is a modern re-imagining that delves into how the gang first came together.
“Oh my jeeper😭💜,” Grace shared on social media. “I can’t believe life is real. Just seeing this announcement makes me cry all over again. I’m so grateful and so excited. 🚙🔎💜.”
Returning to the origins of Mystery Company.
Netflix released the eight-episode series in March 2025. The official logline says that during their last summer at camp, old friends Shaggy and Daphne (Grace) become embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely, lost Great Dane puppy who may be a witness to a supernatural murder.
It continued: “Along with Velma, a down-to-earth, scientific townie, and Freddy, a strange but very handsome new student, they set out to solve a case that drags them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to reveal all their secrets.”
Also read: Matthew Lillard reacts to Netflix’s planned live-action ‘Scooby-Doo’ series
The moment when Grace’s Daphne comes full circle
This is the interesting part about the symmetry of casting. Grace previously voiced young Daphne on Scoob. He was scheduled to return in 2020 for the first part, “Scoob!”. Holiday Haunt before the film was scrapped due to Warner Bros. Discovery’s cost-cutting measures. She’s also built a steady track record playing younger versions of major characters in projects like Captain Marvel, I, Tonya, and Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
And if you’re interested in the “she revealed this” interpretation of all this, there’s a very nice little footnote: Grace dressed up as Daphne for Halloween 2024, complete with her own Scooby for the photo.
In 2021, Grace was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for The Handmaid’s Tale. Her other screen credits include The Haunting of Hill House, Young Sheldon, Designated Survivor, Gifted, and the Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire franchises. She has recently appeared in the horror sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” and the romantic drama “Regret You,” and has “Scream 7” and “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” coming up.
Who makes Netflix’s Scooby-Doo series?
Scooby-Doo is written and showrun by Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg, who will also executive produce alongside Andre Nemec and Jeff Pinkner under their Midnight Radio banner. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Lee London Redman will executive produce through their Berlanti Productions, with Warner Bros. Television producing.
The live-action Scooby-Doo has had its moments in the spotlight before, most notably in 2002’s Scooby-Doo, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne Blake, Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred Jones, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers, and Linda Cardellini as Velma Dinkley. A sequel, Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed, was released in 2004.
Grace is the first casting announcement for the live-action series. Next up: Norville “Shaggy” Rogers, Fred Jones, and Velma Dinkley.
