“Scoob!: Holiday Haunt” director achieves record result despite cancellation

Although Warner Bros. Discovery has officially abandoned release plans for Scoob!: Holiday Haunt, a sequel to the 2020 animated film Scoob!, the film is not quite finished with work. Director Tony Cervone has announced that the production is still recording the film’s music despite the official cancellation.

On Saturday, Cervone shared a photo of his team working in a recording studio on Instagram.

“So what do you do if the movie gets canceled but you’ve already paid for the stage and musicians?” Cervone wrote in the caption. “You’re recording the damn score!”

While it’s not exactly common to record a score for a film that doesn’t get released, a film is scrapped after the majority of its production is already complete – which was reportedly the case with “Scoob!: Holiday Haunt” – is too not commonplace.

Last Tuesday, Hollywood was rocked after Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that “Scoob!: Holiday Haunt” would no longer be released alongside “Batgirl” (a feature film adaptation of the DC Comics character), either in theaters or on HBO Max. Both productions were conceived as original programming for the streamer and had release dates in mind later this year.

“Holiday Haunt” director Cervone confirmed the cancellation on Instagram.

“Yes, I’m afraid that’s true,” he wrote. “The film is practically finished and it turned out beautifully. I am beyond heartbroken.”

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was quoted as addressing the controversial decision to ditch Batgirl during an earnings call from the company late last week, saying, “We’re not going to put a movie out if we don’t believe in it.”

Batgirl was supposed to be Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) with Bad Boys for Life and Ms. Marvel” directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah at the helm. Production was approved back in 2021 as part of a company-wide effort at Warner Bros. to produce feature films for HBO Max. The film had already completed principal photography and began test screenings.

The move to cut Batgirl and Scoob!: Holiday Haunt comes as Warner Bros. Discovery realigned the company to focus on theatrical releases.

Scoob!: Holiday Haunt was scheduled for release on HBO Max on December 22nd. The film is said to have cost around $40 million to make. The company will reportedly seek a tax write-off on the incomplete production.

“Holiday Haunt” would have performed the voice of Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo alongside Iain Armitage, Ariana Greenblatt, Pierce Gagnon, Mckenna Grace, Michael McKean, Mark Hamill, Andre Braugher and Jim Meskimen.