Matthew Lillard is back to voicing Shaggy after missing out on the Scoob! movie.

In 2002, Matthew Lillard made his debut in the Scooby-Doo franchise with his role as the live-action incarnation of Norville "Shaggy" Rogers. After reprising his role for the 2004 sequel, Lillard would further embody the character by becoming the official voice of Shaggy in animated movies and TV shows after original actor Casey Kasem retired in 2009. He was replaced as the voice of Shaggy for the 2020 film Scoob!, but in a new interview (via Toonado), Lillard confirmed that he's now back to work as Shaggy for an immersive Scooby-Doo project.

"I’m really excited about [Scooby-Doo]," Lillard said of his next project voicing Shaggy. "I can’t really talk about it yet, but there’s a new project I’m associated with that will allow kids to put themselves into a Scooby-Doo adventure. That’s super fun. For me, that’s my day job. It’s my bread and butter."

Matthew Lillard Wants to Keep Going as Shaggy for Years to Come

Matthew Lillard further addressed how special it is for him to play the Shaggy character. While he acknowledges that he will eventually have to pass the role along to another actor, as Casey Kasem did with him, Lillard said he hopes to continue playing Shaggy for a long time to come, noting his belief that the franchise is something that will be around forever with its many incarnations.

"For me, being Shaggy for so many years and holding space for that part while honoring Casey Kasem, I know eventually I’ll pass that part to the next generation as he did," Lillard explained. "I’m honored to do that for as long as they’ll have me. Scooby-Doo is always in cycle in some capacity or another. We’re either doing a cartoon or a movie or a commercial for something."

He added, "There are a million different iterations of it and something is always in the works. I’ve had the privilege and honor of being that voice for the last 16 or 17 years, so I will hold on to that as long as I can."

Will Forte briefly took over the role of Shaggy with 2020's Scoob!, and the actor reprised the role for a planned sequel, dubbed Scoob! Holiday Haunt. That film was completed before it had its release canceled, seemingly putting an end to Forte's run in the role. Many fans had expressed their disappointment to see Lillard losing the role, so that may have played a part in why the actor has since come back after the brief recasting.

Source: Toonado