Mckenna Grace Is Throwing Punches for ‘Scooby-Doo: Origins’ and the Internet Is Here for It
Fans of ‘Scooby-Doo: Origins’ have a new reason to get excited, and it has everything to do with the woman suiting up as the iconic Daphne Blake. A viral post showing Mckenna Grace in boxing gear, fists raised and looking every bit the action heroine, has set off a wave of enthusiasm online.
The timing could not be more fitting. Filming is now underway on Netflix’s ‘Scooby-Doo: Origins,’ a modern reimagining of the beloved children’s show. Cameras officially began rolling on April 27, with production set in Atlanta, Georgia and scheduled to run through September 10, 2026. Grace stepping into what appears to be active combat training right as the show kicks off production has fans reading into every detail.
Grace stars as a young Daphne Blake in the show, which will explore how the Mystery Inc. gang first met each other. Netflix picked up the show for eight episodes in March 2025. For many, the casting is a perfect fit given how much history Grace already has with the franchise. She voiced a young Daphne Blake in the 2020 film ‘Scoob!’ and was set to voice the character in the scrapped sequel as well.
What makes the training photos resonate so strongly is what they recall from the franchise’s history. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s live-action portrayal of Daphne in the early 2000s films was trained in martial arts, as the character wanted to escape her previous “damsel in distress” persona, a subversion that mirrored Gellar’s widely recognized role as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The moment defined a generation’s understanding of who Daphne could be, and Grace appearing to channel that same energy is exactly the kind of continuity fans are hungry to see honored.
The full Mystery Inc. lineup also includes Tanner Hagen as Shaggy Rogers, Abby Ryder Fortson as Velma Dinkley, Maxwell Jenkins as Fred Jones, and Paul Walter Hauser in an as-yet-unnamed role, believed to be Scooby-Doo’s original owner. The ensemble has already drawn considerable buzz, with the first official look from the production released while cameras were rolling, introducing the core gang without Scooby himself, who will likely be assembled by a VFX team.
Given that production occupies the middle block of 2026, the series is not expected to land on Netflix until at least 2027. That is a long wait, but photos of Grace clearly putting in the physical work have given the fanbase something to hold onto in the meantime. Whether or not a fighting Daphne is baked into the actual story of ‘Scooby-Doo: Origins,’ the image of the actress training hard signals that this version of the character will not be standing in anyone’s shadow.
Share your thoughts in the comments below. Are you excited to see Mckenna Grace bring a more action-forward Daphne Blake to Netflix?
