McKenna Grace and Maxwell Jenkins Bring Daphne and Fred to Life on the ‘Scooby-Doo’ Set

Avatar photoHrvoje Milakovic
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Bringing a beloved cartoon gang into live-action always carries some risk. Fans often have very specific images of what their favorite animated characters should look like, and any casting choice faces scrutiny the moment photos start circulating.

That’s the conversation currently unfolding around Netflix’s ‘Scooby-Doo: Origins,’ the streamer’s first-ever live-action adaptation of the Hanna-Barbera classic. The series has been revealing casting details and behind-the-scenes glimpses for months, each offering fans more to discuss.

The latest update comes from a side-by-side set photo shared by fan account DiscussingFilm, featuring Mckenna Grace and Maxwell Jenkins in character as Daphne Blake and Fred Jones, positioned next to their animated counterparts for comparison. Grace’s vibrant red hair and Jenkins’ tousled blond look closely mirror the cartoon design, making their resemblance a hot topic online.

Grace was one of the first actors confirmed for the project, landing the role of Daphne in the spring after previously voicing a younger version of the character in the 2020 animated film ‘Scoob!’ To embody the character, the actress reportedly swapped her signature blonde hair for Daphne’s iconic red locks, a transformation she shared on her social media.

Jenkins, known to Netflix audiences as Will Robinson in ‘Lost in Space,’ joined the cast shortly after as Fred Jones, described in the official logline as the “strange, but ever so handsome new kid” who completes the gang. He steps into a role previously portrayed by Freddie Prinze Jr. in the early-2000s films and by Robbie Amell in the 2009 and 2010 TV movies.

They are joined by Tanner Hagen as Shaggy Rogers and Abby Ryder Fortson as Velma Dinkley, completing the core foursome at the heart of the series. ‘Scooby-Doo: Origins’ reimagines the group’s final summer at camp, where a haunting mystery involving a lonely, lost Great Dane puppy draws Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, and Fred into a case that threatens to reveal all their secrets.

In addition to the main four, the series boasts a sizable supporting cast that includes Paul Walter Hauser, André Benjamin, Cathy Moriarty, Rusty Schwimmer, Peter Macon, Sara Gilbert, and Bruce McGill, among others. Showrunners Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg are writing and executive producing through their company Midnight Radio, alongside Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Toby Haynes, who also directs the premiere episode.

One detail generating excitement is Scooby himself, who will be portrayed by a real Great Dane puppy for the first time in the franchise’s history, rather than through animation or CGI. Combined with the cast’s visual fidelity to their cartoon counterparts, it’s evident the production is embracing nostalgia while carving out its own identity.

Production on ‘Scooby-Doo: Origins’ has wrapped, with the series set to premiere sometime in 2027. Until then, fan-shared comparison photos like this one are likely to keep the conversation buzzing about how closely this live-action gang can capture the spirit of the original Mystery Inc.

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