Photo Credit: Screenshot: YouTube (Fair Use)
Guardians of the Galaxy screenwriter James Gunn gave some insight on one of the biggest mysteries of cult classic history and that is about Scooby Doo. If everyone knows or suspected that Velma was gay, why didn’t they just make her a gay character? The question in particular was if he had considered making a live action lesbian Velma. He says he actually tried doing so.
“I tried!” he responded on Twitter. “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).”
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). 😐 https://t.co/Pxho6Ju1oQ
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 13, 2020
And not to anyone’s surprise, cast members have discussed the obvious before in the past. A kiss between Velma and Daphne happened before but didn’t make the final cut. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played Daphne told Sci Fi Wire in 2002, “We did kiss.” She went on to say “It got cut.” It was for a body swap scene with Gunn explaining saying, “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.”
Gunn went on to explain how this potential lesbian relationship caused outrage among parents saying, “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.”
Film producer Tony Cervone apparently tried to do the same regarding making Velma a gay character in his 2010 animated series reboot Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated. He planned for her to have a love interested in fellow character Marcie Fleach and posted an Instagram pic of Velma and and Marcie with a rainbow backdrop. “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,” Cervone explained. He also took a moment to correct another user who incorrectly labeled her as bisexual. “I’ve said this before, but Velma in Mystery Incorporated is not bi. She’s gay.”
We’re not losing hope on a lesbian Velma. Just like how Wendy Williams said she used to lock herself in the studio and play 50 Cent on radio against her boss’ will and get suspended for doing it, that’s how change happens. It’s just a relationship. People will get over it.
