Velma was ‘explicitly gay’ in the original live-action Scooby-Doo script, reveals filmmaker James Gunn
Velma was meant to be gay in the 2001 Scooby-Doo film
Filmmaker James Gunn has revealed that he was blocked from depicting Velma as a lesbian in the 2002 live-action Scooby-Doo film.
The film’s writer and director spilled the tea about behind-the-scenes wrangling over the camp classic, which starred Linda Cardellini as Velma Dinkley.
Responding to a fan who urged him to “make our live-action lesbian Velma dreams come true”, Gunn revealed he had depicted the character as gay in his original script.
Studio blocked depiction of Velma as gay in Scooby-Doo movie, James Gunn reveals.
He tweeted: “I tried! In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script. But the studio just kept watering it down and watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) and finally having a boyfriend (the sequel).”
The poorly-reviewed sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, shoehorned in a love interest for Velma in the form of Patrick Wisely, played by Seth Green.
It was already known that the original film was intended to include a kiss between Velma and Daphne during a body-swap sequence – which ended up cut from the film.
Sarah Michelle Gellar previously told Sci Fi Wire: “It wasn’t just, like, for fun… initially in the soul-swapping scene, Velma and Daphne couldn’t seem to get their souls back together in the woods, and so the way they found was to kiss and the souls went back into proper alignment.”
Gellar added: “Linda is quite a kisser.”
Gunn has previously lamented the cut, explaining: “The movie was originally meant to be PG-13 and was cut down to PG after, like, three parents were outraged at a test screening in Sacramento.
“The studio decided to go a more family-friendly route. Language and jokes and sexual situations were removed, including a kiss between Daphne and Velma. Cleavage was CGI’d over.
“But, thankfully, the farting remained. I thought at the time the rating change was a mistake. I felt like a lot of teens came out for the first film and didn’t get what they wanted (and didn’t come back for the sequel). But today I don’t know. So many young kids loved those movies, which is pretty cool.”
Velma is definitely gay in the cartoon series, producer says.
Meanwhile, a producer behind a separate Scooby-Doo cartoon series has said that Velma is gay – even though she dated Shaggy on the show.
Tony Cervone, who worked on the 2010-13 cartoon series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, shared fanart of the character in front of a Pride flag as he explained that he always intended for Velma to be gay on the show.
He wrote: “I’ve said this before, but Velma in Mystery Incorporated is not bi. She’s gay.
“We always planned on Velma acting a little off and out of character while she was dating Shaggy because that relationship was wrong for her and she had unspoken difficulty with the why.
“There are hints about the why in that episode with the mermaid, and if you follow the entire Marcie arc it seems as clear as we could make it 10 years ago.”
He added that in a new version of reality explored in the show’s final episode, Velma is intended to be in a relationship with Marcie – who, ironically, is voiced by Linda Cardellini.
Cervone said: “I don’t think Marcie and Velma had time to act on their feelings during the main timeline, but post reset, they are a couple. You can not like it, but this was our intention.”
