Those meddling kids shouldn’t be surprised to come across the “Cruella” star.

Paul Walter Hauser, the most Scooby-Doo actor who has ever existed, cast in live-action Scooby-Doo show

Those meddling kids shouldn't be surprised to come across the "Cruella" star.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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March 24, 2026 3:44 p.m. ET

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Paul Walter Hauser; Scooby-Doo. Credit:

Stewart Cook/NATAS via Getty; ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Paul Walter Hauser's Scooby-Doo destiny has been fulfilled.

It's hard to fully describe, but something just felt inevitable about the *Cruella* star eventually facing off with those meddling kids, and now it's official: Hauser has been cast in Netflix's live-action *Scooby Doo* series.

An Emmy winner for his dark turn on Apple TV's *Black Bird*, Hauser has appeared in a bit of everything, including *BlacKkKlansman*, *Richard Jewell*, *The Naked Gun*, *Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere*, and *Cobra Kai.*

Netflix previously revealed the actors cast as the Mystery Inc. gang, with Mckenna Grace as Daphne, Tanner Hagen as Shaggy, Abby Ryder Fortson as Velma, and Maxwell Jenkins as Fred.

Here's the official logline for the new *Scooby-Doo*: "A modern reimagining of the iconic mystery-solving group of teens and their very special dog. During their final summer at camp, old friends Shaggy and Daphne get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma, and the strange, but ever so handsome new kid, Freddy, they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets."

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Paul Walter Hauser, Emma Stone, and Joel Fry in 'Cruella.'.

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Hauser's role is currently undisclosed, but there are really only two options for him: the voice behind Scooby, or the prime suspect in the big mystery. The latter seems like a natural fit, given Hauser's history of playing bumbling, goofy bad guys, between *I, Tonya*, *The Fantastic Four: First Steps* (yes, Mole Man was a bit more helpful in this iteration), and the most obvious Scooby-Doo warmup of all-time: *Cruella*. In the 2021 crime dramedy about the early life of Cruella de Vil (Emma Stone), Hauser played Horace, a thief sidekick to the dog-hating, *101 Dalmatians* villain.

Sure sounds like the perfect origin story for a Scooby-Doo antagonist!

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Source: “EW TV”