Scooby-Doo writer James Gunn says ‘explicitly gay’ Velma was ‘watered down’ by studio

Filmmaker reveals how studio interference downgraded Velma’s sexuality to ‘ambiguous’ before giving her a boyfriend in the 2004 sequel

Scooby-Doo writer James Gunn has revealed that the character of Velma was “explicitly gay” in the first draft of the 2002 film adaptation.

The filmmaker also claimed that the character’s sexuality was “watered down” by the studio (Warner Bros) prior to the film’s release.

Linda Cardellini played the bespectacled sleuth in the live-action adaptation of the classic Hanna-Barbera animation.

During an online Q&A, one Twitter user wrote to Gunn: “Please make our live-action lesbian Velma dreams come true.”

Gunn responded: “I tried! In 2001 velma was explicitly gay in my initial script. But the studio just kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend (the sequel).”

Tony Cervone, the director of the recent Scooby-Doo adaptation Scoob! and producer on Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorperated, also commented on Velma’s sexuality recently, writing on Instagram: “Velma in Mystery Incorperated 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.”

Scooby-Doo was released in 2002, and starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr, Matthew Lillard and Rowan Atkinson. Neil Fanning provided the voice of Scooby.

The sequel to which Gunn referred, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, was released in 2004.

The Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker seemed to dismiss fan demands for a second Scooby Doo sequel, writing on Twitter: “With the original cast? That would be one incredibly long life-span for a Great Dane.”