Old Man Smithers, also known as the Luna Ghost, was intended to be the main antagonist in an early draft of the 2002 horror comedy movie adaptation of Scooby-Doo!. He was going to be the one behind the plot of using the Daemon Ritus to absorb all souls in order to rule both Spooky Island and the world, using the disguise of Emile Mondavarious. However, the Luna Ghost was ultimately relegated to the role of opening antagonist once it was decided to include Scrappy Doo and make him the film's main antagonist.
He was portrayed by Nicholas Hope in the final project. His Emile Mondavarious discarded persona was portrayed by the legendary Rowan Atkinson on the other hand.
Biography[]
Scooby Doo! (2002)[]
Alternate ending[]
In the alternate ending, which was filmed and test-screened, Emile Mondavarious reveals himself to actually have been Old Man Smithers all this time, eager to get his revenge against Mystery, Inc. for foiling his plans at the film's opening sequence. This would have explained his "I'll get you for this!" line upon getting arrested after he was unmasked as the true identity of the Luna Ghost. He then proceeds to reveals his intentions of using the Daemon Ritus to take over Spooky Island and the world before Scooby and the Mystery, Ic. members team up to defeat him.
However, according to the film's DVD commentary, choosing the villain of the movie was a problematic part during development, as the filmmakers did not feel comfortable simply giving the role to an "anonymous monster" like the Luna Ghost. As a result, the ending was in "bits and pieces" and the "confinements forced them to be creative".
When it was dictated to include Scrappy Doo in the film possibly to respect the franchise's mythology, writer James Gunn opted to reveal Scrappy as the one behind the plot to use the Daemon Ritus to take over Spooky Island and the world due vehemently despising the character. As a result, Scrappy ended up being the secret identity of Emile Mondavarious and the Luna Ghost was relegated to the film's opening sequence as the opening antagonist.
The change may have been done for the better, however, as the Scrappy plot twist ultimately became one of the best received aspects of the film and the Luna Ghost has gone to become a fan-favorite among Scooby-Doo fans over the years.
Trivia[]
- Despite being ultimately relegated to the film's opening antagonist, the Luna Ghost was vastly featured in the majority of the film's marketing and his silhouette was present on almost all of the posters and home media releases. This may be an indication that the decision to drop the film's alternate ending revealing Old Man Smithers as Emile Mondavarious and change him for Scrappy Doo came up very late in post-production.
- The idea of an old Scooby Doo antagonist returning for revenge under another identity was reused in the sequel with Jonathan Jacobo, the original Pterodactyl, who is the Evil Masked Figure in the film.