Velma is officially (and finally) queer onscreen.
Animated “Scooby Doo” Halloween film “Trick or Treat Scooby Doo!” includes a sequence where Velma meets costume designer Coco Diablo, and fans are already swooning over the sparks flying between the duo. The confirmation comes years in the making after live-action installments from writer James Gunn, and the animated “Mystery Incorporated” series, hinted at Velma’s sexuality. However, this is the first time the Hanna-Barbera character is overtly gay onscreen.
Gunn, who wrote “Scooby Doo” and “Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed,” tweeted that his film was originally rated by the MPAA as R, and eventually after a “bunch of stuff was changed,” got a PG rating. Some of what was edited out was Velma’s queer relationship. Back in 2020, Gunn confirmed that he “tried” to show Velma as a lesbian in the live-action films starring Linda Cardellini as the beloved character.
“In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script,” Gunn tweeted at the time. “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 supervising producer for the critically acclaimed “Mystery Incorporated” series, posted on Instagram during 2020 Pride Month that Velma was not bisexual but gay, hence her awkward interactions while dating Shaggy in the series.
“I’ve said this before, but Velma in ‘Mystery Incorporated’ is not bi. She’s gay,” Cervone wrote. “We always planned on Velma acting a little off and out of character when 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.”
Velma will also be at the center of Mindy Kaling’s adult animated series “Velma,” with the character of South Asian heritage.
“Hopefully you noticed my Velma is South Asian,” Kaling said during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront earlier this year (via Entertainment Weekly). “If people freak out about that, I don’t care.”
Velma’s other appearance was slated to be in “Scoob: Holiday Haunt” prequel film which went by way of Scrappy Doo and was scrapped by HBO Max amid the Discovery merger.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCAB5kPDDqG/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCAB5kPDDqG/
A post shared by Tony Cervone (@tonycervone)
Source: Read Full Article
