2023 hasn’t been the best year for Scooby-Doo fans!

A new animated film titled Scooby-Doo and The Haunted High Rise had been in production at Warner Bros, with an expected release for later this year. The movie was going to feature the long-awaited return of the Hex Girls, an all-female goth band beloved by LGBTQ+ fans of the franchise.

Earlier this year, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav promised that the cancelation of future films and TV shows had been left in 2022 and fans shouldn’t expect that practice to keep happening moving forward. Alas, Haunted High Rise storyboard artist Carolyn Gair confirmed during an interview with that the upcoming animated feature was scrapped by the studio.

“I think The Haunted High Rise was even funnier than the first, because we had the Hex Girls, and new songs, and we pulled out all the stops. We had motorcycle chases throughout the hallways,” Gair explained. “Joe called me and said, ‘Has the studio been in touch with you?’ And I said, ‘No.’ I think this was the beginning of October, and he said, ‘I’m afraid it got shelved and it’s a financial decision and I think Warner Bros. is getting a tax credit for shelving it and canceling it, so it’s dead dead dead, I think because of the merger with Discovery.’”

Gair went on to explain her frustration, “The saddest part is it would’ve cost the same to shelve it as it would to make it, because it was already lock picture and in animation. That was another reason for them doing the two movies back-to-back because they had an animation studio they could be feeding work to. It seems so sad, since it’s already so close, but I do not understand the politics or how financial decisions at Warner Bros. get made. (…) But it was locked picture, all dialogue, songs were recorded, it was ready for animation.”

The Hex Girls first appeared in the 1999 animated film Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost and instantly became a huge hit with the fans, who looked forward to seeing her return in this upcoming movie. In the meantime, HBO Max’s Velma received a surprising season two renewal despite being largely panned by critics and audiences alike.

The Scooby-Doo fandom is going through a roller-coaster of emotions as of late. We only hope for the best when it comes to the Mystery Inc. crew!