Scooby-Doo has lasted an incredibly long time as a franchise, and much of that success is due to the five characters that make up Mystery Incorporated and their many changes and versions over the last half-century.
18 Most Iconic Villains From Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! featured some memorable villains throughout its run. These stand as the series' most iconic.
Shaggy is Scooby-Doo’s best friend, and without him, the shows and films simply wouldn’t work as well. He is the only constant in every piece of Scooby-Doo media besides the infamous talking dog himself. There are so many stories and personality shifts that Shaggy has been through that he can be considered as much of an important character as Scooby himself.
Updated on December 5, 2023, by Chris Harkin: There are always new versions of Scooby-Doo, and by extension Shaggy, being released, as the franchise continues to grow with shows like Velma and movies like Scooby-Doo And Krypto, Too! Which leads to great new versions of the characters being explored. New versions of Shaggy aren't likely to stop showing up anytime soon.
10 Teacher Shaggy
Scooby-Doo And The Ghoul School
- Played by Casey Kasem
There are few times when Scooby, Shaggy, or any of the rest of the Mystery Gang get actual jobs. They seem content to float around, solving mysteries, and rarely actually getting paid for doing so. However, things were different in the Ghoul School film, when Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy got jobs as teachers.
Of course, they weren't aware until they arrived at Miss Grimwood's Finishing School For Girls that the school was entirely populated by the daughters of famous movie monsters. Still, despite their constant fears, this version of Shaggy was able to step up and help the monstrous students believe in themselves, an impressive turn for the character.
9 Werewolf Shaggy
Scooby-Doo And The Reluctant Werewolf
- Played By Casey Kasem
One of the earliest films in the Scooby-Doo franchise saw a major shift from the norm. Featuring only Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy out of the main characters in any of the shows, this film featured many real monsters. Dracula needed a new werewolf racer for a huge race he held every year, and he chose Shaggy as an amazing racer in his own right to be transformed.
Not only was this version of Shaggy a rally driver who had a steady girlfriend who adored him, but he also became a werewolf and had to deal with being surrounded by different movie monsters. While terrified, he came to the fore and conquered his fears more than this scaredy-cat has ever been known to do and outsmarted them all to win the race.
8 Wrestler Shaggy
Scooby-Doo: WrestleMania Mystery
- Played By Matthew Lillard
When Scooby and the gang met John Cena and the wrestlers of the WWE, it somehow led to Scooby and Shaggy ending up in the main event of WrestleMania. Together they were meant to defeat the monstrous Kane, but the power goes out, and a ghost bear turns up to interrupt proceedings.
Shaggy wasn’t at his bravest or deepest in this role, but he and Scooby were obsessed with WWE and went into a cage in the ultimate case of being made bait in one of Fred’s traps, so they could try and lure out the ghost bear. WrestleMania Mystery is one of the craziest ideas for a Scooby-Doo film, but it was immensely fun, and Shaggy managed to really wrestle, which is more shocking than anything.
7 Alien-Loving Shaggy
Scooby-Doo And The Alien Invaders
- Played by Scott Innes
There was one other time when Shaggy’s romantic interests completely overtook his fears and doubts, maybe even his hunger. Scooby and Shaggy met a delightful pair, a hippy photographer called Crystal and her dog, Amber. They both immediately fall for the girls and are astounded to find out later that the girls are aliens.
This heart-breaking revelation and the pair leaving was an emotional rollercoaster for both Scooby and Shaggy. But Shaggy’s story, feeling these emotions rather than just the shallower ones that other shows and films usually choose to focus on, was a bold move that worked beautifully.
6 Ultra-Instinct Shaggy
Scooby-Doo: Legend Of The Phantosaur
- Played by Matthew Lillard
The most internet-famous version of Shaggy is that of the “Ultra-Instinct Shaggy” as he has been dubbed online. Legend of the Phantosaur tackled Shaggy’s scared nature head-on and had a scientist hypnotize him into not being afraid anymore. This frenzied mode of absolute calm and cool was a totally new place for Shaggy.
The 6 Best Versions Of Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo has been a staple of animation for nearly sixty years. In that time, there have been many versions of the beloved cartoon dog.
However, it then became a much bigger deal through an internet meme and the rest is history. This tackling of the fearful nature Shaggy has had over many decades was a new level for his character, which helped to change the way the audience perceived both him and his terror attacks.
5 Astronaut Shaggy
Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness
- Played by Matthew Lillard
There are so many different locations that the Mystery Gang has gone to, it isn't astounding they managed to make it into space once. In Moon Monster Madness, Velma and Daphne win a lottery that wins them and their friends a trip to space with a billionaire, but once aboard, the situation puts strains on the gang, and they discover a monstrous alien creature on the loose.
Shaggy and Scooby spend a fair part of their time in space running from creatures and running toward food, but in a shocking revelation, it is revealed that Shaggy actually scored highest out of anyone in the gang on the astronaut tests they took before launching off. This shock proved, on a rare occasion, that Shaggy might actually be much more capable than he seems.
4 Selfish Shaggy
Big Top Scooby-Doo
- Played by Matthew Lillard
One of the few times that there has ever been any conflict between best friends Shaggy and Scooby was in Big Top Scooby-Doo. It was all due to the gang going undercover at a circus. Shaggy became the star attraction at the circus and gained many fans because of his dog-training capabilities, even though it was Scooby doing all the tricks.
Shaggy fell into the trap of fame and threw Scooby to the side, taking all the credit and applause for himself. This might not be a particularly lovable version of Shaggy, but the conflict and his redemption and apology to Scooby were a great part of a fantastic story. The film worked out extremely well on many levels, and a big part of that came down to this version of Shaggy.
3 Cowboy Shaggy
Scooby-Doo: Shaggy’s Showdown
- Played by Matthew Lillard
The only time one of the Mystery Incorporated Gang has had their name in a title besides Scooby was in the film Shaggy’s Showdown. This featured the gang going to a ranch owned by Shaggy’s cousins, who were being terrorized by the ghost of Dapper Jack, his ancestor.
Shaggy took on a different personality and role in the gang when he started learning how to be a rancher and decided to take on his ancestor in a duel. He learned to ride horses and was brave throughout the film. Learning more about his own history and what he is capable of was a big deal for Shaggy, and he really got to take center stage for once, even over Scooby himself.
2 Cyber Shaggy
Scooby-Doo And The Cyber Chase
- Played by Scott Innes
One of the most well-remembered and beloved Scooby-Doo movies, Cyber Chase saw the gang being transported into a computer game where they had to fight against many of their former adversaries to survive. This fascinating adventure, punctuated by the mystery of who sent them into the game, made for an emotionally reminiscent look back at where the franchise had been up to that point.
Shaggy had a fascinating time running into the cyber version of his former self, which was surprisingly introspective for him. Seeing where he once was and where he is now, Shaggy, similarly to the rest of the gang, had some interesting character growth. Very few Scooby-Doo projects have given the characters such moments of curiosity about themselves.
1 Live-Action Shaggy
Scooby-Doo (2002)
- Played by Matthew Lillard
Perhaps the greatest version of Shaggy, even a definitive version, is the live-action casting of Matthew Lillard. Not only was this casting revered by fans and critics for being a perfect live-action translation of the character, more than any of the other excellent castings in this film, but Lillard also took on the role of Shaggy full-time shortly after starring in the live-action film and has become Shaggy for much of his career since throughout animated films and shows.
This Shaggy was obsessed with food, loved Scooby more than anything, often got scared, and was generally a perfect picture of the character who had been created nearly forty years earlier. Never replicated, never surpassed, the 2002 Shaggy was the prime version of the character.