(Image Source: Warner Bros. Discovery)
The announcement that Matthew Lillard has a part in James Gunn‘s upcoming DCU movie Man of Tomorrow prompted speculation as to his role. Some suggested that Lillard would play an older version of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. While this was clearly meant as a joke, it would perfectly fit within the canon of both DC Comics and Scooby-Doo.
While respected for his versatility as an actor, Matthew Lillard’s most famous role is that of Norville “Shaggy” Rogers. He first played Shaggy in 2002’s Scooby-Doo and 2004’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. (Both movies, it should be noted, were written by James Gunn before he became the lead architect of the DCU.) Lillard later took over the role in animation, after the original Shaggy, Casey Kasem, retired in 2009.
Today, both Hanna-Barbera (which created Scooby-Doo) and DC Comics are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. This means there is nothing legally to stop a crossover between their properties in the DCU. Indeed, there have been a number of such crossovers in the comics and cartoons. And the most famous of these crossovers have involved Scooby-Doo and Batman.
Shaggy has canonically (and repeatdly) teamed with Batman
(Image Source: DC Comics)
The Dark Knight and Mysteries Inc. first teamed up 1972’s The New Scooby-Doo Movies. It was here that Batman and Robin joined the young detectives in investigating a mysterious old farm house. This turned out to be a hideout being shared by The Joker and The Penguin.
The Batman Family and Scooby gang crossed over again in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. They had even more shared cases in the comics. Indeed, from 2021-2024, there were four Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries volumes specifically devoted to the two groups teaming up.
(Image Source: DC / Puste)
These comics pit Scooby-Doo against many of Batman’s greatest enemies. Naturally, these stories were played for laughs. One of the more famous comics had Shaggy and Scooby defeating the Scarecrow, because the cowardly crusaders were unaffected by his fear gas. The self-styled Master of Fear couldn’t scare two heroes who were already scared of everything.
However, while it’s easy to see Gunn and Lillard arranging a Shaggy cameo as a joke, it isn’t all that likely. Granting that he still voices the character, it would be odd to see Matthew Lillard playing an older, live-action Shaggy. Additionally, it would make more sense for such a cameo to take place in the upcoming DCU Batman: The Brave and the Bold movie.
