James Gunn Wanted Velma To Be Gay In His ‘Scooby-Doo’ Movies, But The Studio ‘Kept Watering It Down’

Before he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, James Gunn worked with Troma Entertainment, the schlock factory known for titles like Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters and Killer Condom. And Tromeo and Juliet (which Gunn co-wrote), and Dumpster Baby, and Chopper Chicks in Zombietown, and… I could do this for a while. Point is, anything goes in Troma movies, so it must have been a kick in the pants for Gunn to be told “no” for something as non-controversial as making Velma gay.

In response to one of his Twitter followers demanding a third live-action Scooby-Doo movie (Gunn wrote 2002’s Scooby Doo and 2004’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, and directed the original), the Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker responded, “With the original cast? That would be one incredibly long life-span for a Great Dane.” He was then asked to “please make our live-action lesbian Velma dreams come true.” He 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),” Gunn tweeted, adding the neutral face emoji. A kissing scene was filmed between the always-great Linda Cardellini’s Velma and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Daphne, but “it got cut,” the Buffy star said back in 2002. “Hopefully they’ll add it into the DVD.” Narrator voice: they didn’t.

If only Gunn had made a Scooby-Doo (or Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street) movie during his Troma days. It would be explicitly gay, and extremely explicit.