Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed turns 20, and James Gunn celebrates the occasion with a new social media post sharing his honest thoughts about the movie’s title. Released in 2004, the live-action Scooby-Doo sequel was directed by Raja Gosnell, with Gunn having written the screenplay. The film, which features Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, earned mostly negative reviews from critics, but was a success at the box office. Gunn would go on to write and direct movies like Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Suicide Squad.
In a post on Instagram, Gunn celebrates Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed‘s 20th anniversary, sharing behind-the-scenes images from the film and revealing some candid thoughts about the movie’s title. Check out his post below:
In his caption, Gunn reveals that he had originally hoped it would be called Scooby-Doo Unleashed and that he was never totally on board with the title that the movie ended up having. Read his caption and his response to a user question about the title below:
20 Years ago today Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (I was never a big fan of the title – I had named it simply Scooby-Doo Unleashed) was released in theaters. A great group of people – I made quite a few life long friends working on this project.
Scooby Two was the first title, then Scooby Doo Unleashed. Scooby Deux was also considered. Then marketing gave it the long title.
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Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed’s Reception Explained
How The Sequel Compares To 2002’s Scooby-Doo Movie
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed was a dud with critics, and the sequel currently holds a lackluster 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics took issue with just about every aspect of the film, including its plot, characters, action, and humor. The film fared better with general viewers, however, and has a 41% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. As seen in the chart below, this is generally in line with how the 2002 Scooby-Doo movie was received.
Title | Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score | Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|---|---|---|
Scooby-Doo (2002) | 32% | 40% |
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) | 23% | 41% |
While estimates vary, with some going as high as $80 million, The Numbers pegs Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed‘s budget at $25 million. The sequel earned $181.2 million at the box office, meaning, even if the movie had a production budget of closer to $80 million, it broke even and made a profit. The sequel, however, was notably less successful than 2002’s Scooby-Doo, which earned an impressive $275.7 million worldwide.
There have been no subsequent attempts to make a live-action movie in the franchise after Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, but the franchise has lived on in the form of animation. Currently, the animated Max comedy Velma is the only ongoing project in the franchise, though direct-to-video Scooby-Doo movies are released fairly regularly. The cancelled Scoob! Holiday Haunt was set to a more high-profile return for the character, but Warner Bros. scrapped the animated movie in 2022.
