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James Gunn says studio 'watered down' plans for gay Velma in his 'Scooby-Doo' movies

Scooby-Doo (Credit: Warner Bros)
Scooby-Doo (Credit: Warner Bros)

James Gunn has said that in his Scooby-Doo movies, crime-solving teenager Velma Dinkley was gay, but the studio behind the movies – Warner Bros – didn't go along with his vision.

The Guardians of the Galaxy director wrote the screenplays for both 2002's Scooby-Doo, and its sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

In them, Velma was played by Mad Men star Linda Cardellini.

Read more: Guardians of the Galaxy 3 to be last with the current team

Gunn was replying to a fan on Twitter, after being pleaded with to make a third Scoob movie, to which Gunn said: “With the original cast? That would be one incredibly long life-span for a Great Dane.”

When another weighed in with 'Please make our live-action lesbian Velma dreams come true', Gunn added: “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).”

Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played Daphne in the movies, has mentioned in the past that there was a scene in which Daphne and Velma kissed, but 'it got cut... hopefully they'll add it into the DVD'.

But it never was.

However, there is some clarity coming direct from the Scooby canon too.

Coincidentally, Tony Cervone, producer of the animated series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, waded into a row between fans online on his Instagram page a couple of weeks back.

He posted a shot of the character Marcie (confusingly voiced by Cardellini in the show) and Velma, backed by a Pride flag, captioned: “Marcie and Velma - Mystery Incorporated. I obviously don’t represent every version of Velma Dinkley, but I am one of the key people that represents this one. We made our intentions as clear as we could ten years ago. Most of our fans got it. To those that didn’t, I suggest you look closer. There’s no new news here.”

He later added, when one fan accused him of altering the 'canon', Cervone said: “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. 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.”