Summary

• The right actor for Daphne Blake is crucial for Netflix's new live-action Scooby-Doo series' success.
• Recent adaptations have made Daphne more complex, but her innate style remains a key trait to consider.
• Various actors like Madelaine Petsch, Jeon Jong-seo, and Billie Lourd could bring unique interpretations to Daphne's character.

Details about Netflix's new live-action Scooby-Doo series remain scarce, but the show will have to find the right actor to play Daphne Blake if it's going to have any chance at success. Daphne has been a key part of the Mystery Gang since their first appearance in 1969's Scooby-Doo Where Are You! She was originally the gang's charismatic face alongside Fred, but her role has evolved through multiple adaptations to reflect the trends of the time.

Daphne Blake used to be portrayed as a pampered rich kid who would often get her family's butler, Jenkins, to do some of her dirty work. More recent adaptations have made her more complex and intelligent, but she has never lost her innate sense of style. Netflix's live-action Scooby-Doo show will have to choose what kind of Daphne Blake they want to have for the 2020s, and choosing the right actor for the part will be key.

10 Madelaine Petsch

Known for Riverdale (2017-2023) and the Strangers franchise

Netflix's new Scooby-Doo show will be produced by Greg Berlanti, the producer behind The CW's Riverdale, and Berlanti may already have his perfect Daphne Blake ready and waiting. Madelaine Petsch plays Cheryl Blossom in Riverdale, the hair-flipping mean girl who is always quick with a sarcastic one-liner. Cheryl was one of Riverdale's best characters across its seven seasons, so Berlanti may look to Petsch again for his new project.

Petsch teaming up with Greg Berlanti would likely signal that fans could expect Scooby-Doo to be similar in style to Riverdale, with a focus on supernatural mysteries and young adult themes.

Madelaine Petsch has appeared in a few thriller and horror movies since breaking through in Riverdale. She plays Maya in Renny Harlin's reboot trilogy of The Strangers franchise, but reuniting with Greg Berlanti would likely signal that fans could expect Scooby-Doo to be similar in style to Riverdale, with a focus on supernatural mysteries and young adult themes. Berlanti could even select other actors from the Riverdale for other roles in the Mystery Gang.

9 Jeon Jong-seo

Known for Burning (2018), Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2021) and Ballerina (2023)

Casting Jeon Jong-seo as Daphne Blake would represent a bold new reinvention of the character, but it wouldn't be totally without precedent. In some versions of Scooby-Doo, Daphne is the best fighter in the gang, using her karate skills and her quick thinking to take down phony monsters. Netflix's new Scooby-Doo show could take this one step further, with Daphne as a fearsome martial artist.

In some versions of Scooby-Doo, Daphne is the best fighter in the gang, using her karate skills and her quick thinking to take down phony monsters.

Jeon Jong-seo's best movies have showcased her talents for hard-hitting action. 2023's revenge thriller Ballerina is the best example of this, and it caused Jeon's character to be likened to a female John Wick. It's highly unlikely that Scooby-Doo would ever get as bloody as this, but it would still add a fun new element to the show if Daphne could carry a fight scene occasionally. Jeon delivered a great performance in Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, her first English-language movie, so she could be ready for more English-speaking roles.

8 Billie Lourd

Known for American Horror Story (2017-), Booksmart (2019) and the Star Wars sequel trilogy

Billie Lourd appeared alongside her mother Carrie Fisher in three Star Wars movies. She has also starred in some of Ryan Murphy's TV shows, beginning with Scream Queens. She has been part of the main cast in every season of American Horror Story since its seventh season. However, the performance that shows why she would be a good pick for Daphne Blake came in 2009's Booksmart.

Lourd could play a more reckless kind of Daphne, which would exaggerate the character's trait of always getting into trouble and needing a rescue.

Daphne's character is often highlighted by her contrast with Velma. While Velma is the dorky and bookish brains of the operation, Daphne is more outgoing and socially intelligent. In Booksmart, Billie Lourd plays Gigi, a wildcard who shows just what the main characters had been missing out on by spending their years in high school studying instead of partying. Lourd could play a more reckless kind of Daphne, which would exaggerate the character's trait of always getting into trouble and needing a rescue.

7 Isla Fisher

Known for Confessions of a Shopoholic (2009), Now You See Me (2013) and Arrested Development (2003-2019)

Isla Fisher has already appeared in one live-action Scooby-Doo project. She plays Mary Jane in 2002's Scooby-Doo, a woman Shaggy falls for who turns out to be possessed by a demon. Over 20 years later, Fisher would be an interesting choice to play Daphne instead. She's in her 40s, so it wouldn't work if Netflix wanted to keep the characters as high school students, but Fisher could play an older Daphne in a reimagined Scooby-Doo.

She's in her 40s, so it wouldn't work if Netflix wanted to keep the characters as high school students, but Fisher could play an older Daphne in a reimagined Scooby-Doo.

There have been dozens of Scooby-Doo TV shows and movies since the gang's first outing in the 1960s. While the Netflix show will distinguish itself from the crowd by being made in live-action, it will have to find another way to breathe new life into old characters. Aging up the gang and showing them solving mysteries full-time could be an interesting option. In that case, Fisher would have the comedy chops and the iconic red hair to play Daphne.

6 Sadie Sink

Known for Stranger Things (2017-), the Fear Street franchise and The Whale (2022)

Sadie Sink is the right age to play a young Daphne Blake, and she already has the character's striking red hair, but she has much more working in her favor than these two superficial factors. Sink has consistently been a standout performer in Netflix's Stranger Things, especially in the show's fourth season when her character, Max, is targeted by Vecna and becomes a more central figure in the show.

The live-action Scooby-Doo show could be a great way for her to start the next stage of her career, and Netflix might be keen on leveraging the popularity of Stranger Things to give the new show a boost.

Stranger Things season 5 will bring the sci-fi horror show to a close, and Sink is expected once again to play a pivotal role. The live-action Scooby-Doo show could be a great way for her to start the next stage of her career, and Netflix might be keen on leveraging the popularity of Stranger Things to give the new show a boost. Scooby-Doo could also be a supernatural mystery much like Stranger Things, making a natural transition for Sink.

5 Chloë Grace Moretz

Known for Kick-Ass (2010), Tom & Jerry (2021) and Nimona (2023)

Many of Chloë Grace Moretz's biggest roles in recent years have come in animated movies such as The Addams Family and Nimona, but she's delivered plenty of great performances in a variety of live-action projects too. Her breakthrough came in 2010's superhero comedy Kick-Ass, in which she plays the pint-sized warrior Hit-Girl, whose martial arts skills and propensity for violence put her elders to shame.

Moretz has been more involved in dramas and horror movies recently, so Scooby-Doo could give her a chance to remind everyone how great she can be as a comic actor.

As well as Kick-Ass, Moretz has shown her comedic side as one of 30 Rock's most memorable side characters, Kaylie Hooper, the Machiavellian teenage genius. Moretz has since been more involved in dramas and horror movies, so Scooby-Doo could give her a chance to remind everyone how great she can be as a comic actor. She also has the self-assured style of Daphne Blake and the kind of range that could help her adapt to whatever this new version of Scooby-Doo looks like.

4 Jameela Jamil

Known for The Good Place (2016-2020) and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)

Daphne is often portrayed as a little ditzy, especially when contrasted with Velma's cool logic. Few TV characters have captured such a style of lovable ditziness in recent years as Tahani Al-Jamil, played by Jameela Jamil in The Good Place. Tahani is a coddled narcissist who does everything she can to make people ire her, but she is still a character who fans want to see succeed.

If Netflix's Scooby-Doo does go for an older cast, Jameela Jamil would be the perfect fit for Daphne's style, naivety and affability.

Another key aspect of Daphne's character that Tahani also nails is her great fashion sense. A live-action Scooby-Doo show will give Daphne the chance to change out of her usual purple dress and green ascot, so she will need a wardrobe to match her status as the arbiter of coolness in the Mystery Gang. If Netflix's Scooby-Doo does go for an older cast, Jameela Jamil would be the perfect fit for Daphne's style, naivety and affability.

3 Kiernan Shipka

Known for Mad Men (2007-2015), Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020) and Totally Killer (2023)

Scooby-Doo presenter Greg Berlanti will be fully aware of what Kiernan Shipka can do. After first rising to fame as Sally Draper in Mad Men, Shipka played Sabrina Spellman in Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, on which Berlanti is credited as an executive producer. The character crossed over into the CW's Riverdale, which Berlanti also produced.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina could provide some clues as to how Greg Berlanti may approach his live-action remake of Scooby-Doo.

Even more so than Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina could provide some clues as to how Greg Berlanti may approach his live-action remake of Scooby-Doo. Like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Scooby-Doo will look to reimagine beloved old characters in a new way, and the source material also lends itself to supernatural horror and mysteries. Shipka would therefore be an easy choice for Daphne Blake, as she's already proven that she can make an old character her own.

2 Sabrina Carpenter

Known for Girl Meets World (2014-2017), Tall Girl (2019) and Work It (2020)

Sabrina Carpenter would be a rogue choice for Daphne. She is one of many pop stars who started their careers acting on Disney Channel shows, just like Olivia Rodrigo, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. Although she has had a few more acting roles since then, she appears to have shifted focus entirely toward her music. A role in Scooby-Doo therefore seems unlikely, but she could be an interesting choice if she could be persuaded.

Carpenter has the same "it-girl" magnetism as Daphne Blake, and she has appeared in enough comedy roles to be able to have fun with the part.

Carpenter has the same "it-girl" magnetism as Daphne Blake, and she has appeared in enough comedy roles to be able to have fun with the part. She recently played Daphne in a dark SNL sketch alongside Jake Gyllenhaal as Fred. The sketch is a loving throwback to the hammy, melodramatic style of the original cartoon. It would be a bold gamble for the Netflix show to deconstruct the franchise so brazenly, but Carpenter would be ideal as a parody of Daphne's empty-headed glamour.

1 Rachel Sennott

Known for Shiva Baby (2020), Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) and Bottoms (2023)

Rachel Sennott's Bottoms is a high-school comedy about two social outcasts who go to desperate lengths to get attention from the girls they're interested in. Sennott's character is completely antithetical to the facets which commonly make up Daphne Blake's personality, but in a way, this could provide the blueprint for a fun subversion of the character. Mindy Kaling's Velma tried and failed to put a subversive twist on the Mystery Gang, but Greg Berlanti could shake up the characters just like he did for the Archie Comic gang in Riverdale.

Putting Bottoms to one side, Rachel Sennott's other roles provide a more straightforward case for her merits as a potential Daphne.

Putting Bottoms to one side, Rachel Sennott's other roles provide a more straightforward case for her merits as a potential Daphne. In particular, Bodies Bodies Bodies has Sennott playing a clueless airhead who gets increasingly frustrated trying to unwrap a mystery with her friends. This could be an extension of Daphne Blake's usual trait as the one who is always getting into trouble and only figuring things out at the last minute.