Scoob!: Holiday Haunt is Cancelled by Warner Bros. Following Cost-Cutting Push

According to reports from The Hollywood Reporter, Scoob!: Holiday Haunt has been axed by Warner Bros. amid a flurry of insane news from the studio. The film was initially set to release on HBO Max on Dec. 22nd of this year, however, the film was completely scrapped just five months before release. Scoob!: Holiday Haunt was currently in post-production, serving as a prequel to the 2020 film Scoob!. It would feature the younger versions of the beloved Mystery Gang, with the young actors from the original film reprising their roles.

Related: Batgirl Reportedly Scrapped by Warner Bros. Despite Having Completed Filming

The unusual move to scrap the project comes after a change in leadership at Warner Bros., with new CEO David Zaslav prioritizing cutting costs, as the New York Post reported in June. Scoob!: Holiday Haunt had a budget in the $40 million range, which Warner Bros. will completely lose without a release. The official synopsis for the film reads:

To celebrate Scooby-Doo’s first Christmas, 10-year-old Shaggy and the gang take him to a holiday-themed resort owned by Fred’s Uncle Ned. The kids are forced to solve a 40-year-old mystery to save the resort from a ghostly haunting.

The film would’ve seen the return of Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo, alongside Iain Armitage, Ariana Greenblatt, Pierce Gagnon, Mckenna Grace, Michael McKean, Mark Hamill, Andre Braugher, and Jim Meskimen. It was only a year ago that Scoob! director Tony Cervone announced the project was in development with the entire creative team returning to the project, according to ComicBookMovie.

“Actually, we are kicking the tyres on a follow-up to Scoob! It hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s something we’re all excited about. The whole creative team that made the first movie is still around and back and working on something new. It was neat to create this Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe, and it’s exciting to return to it.”

Unfortunately for fans, the Scoob! Universe was short-lived, with Warner Broz. axing any project deemed to not be a success by the studio.

Related: Scooby-Doo: Every Major Character, Ranked

The Cancellations of Completely Finished Films are Unprecedented

The entertainment industry is shocked following the cancellation of Scoob! Holiday Haunt and Batgirl. Together, the two projects cost nearly $130 million to produce, and neither will be seen by any audience member who eagerly anticipated the release. According to Justin Kroll, a Deadline Senior Film Reporter, a rival studio executive says, ‘this is some unprecedented s**t right here.’ His full tweet can be found below.

In terms of the DCEU, it’s unknown where the franchise will continue to go from here. The controversy surrounding Amber Heard’s role in the upcoming Aquaman film and The Flash star Ezra Miller being the center of disputes throughout the summer leaves the future of the DCEU in question for now.

For Scoob!, it’s highly unlikely we see a continuation of the characters and stories we saw in the first film. Releasing the movie on HBO Max seemed to be a low-risk scenario, especially since the film was in post-production. Unfortunately, it appears Warner Bros. was not interested in continuing the Hanna-Barbera franchise. As a result, we may not see the beloved Mystery Gang and Scooby-Doo in a full-fledged film for quite some time.