James Gunn revealed a bizarre fact revealing that in the 2002 live-action rendition of the film, Scooby-Doo, Mystery Incorporated's very own Velma was actually homosexual. Prior to Gunn's prominent work directing, curating, and writing in the highly-popularized comic book film realm, the 53-year-old filmmaker served as a screenwriter on a plethora of films, one of which being the initial Scooby-Doo live-action movie. According to Gunn, he had intended to incorporate Velma's sexuality in the film but was forced to scrap the idea after Warner Bros., the studio producing the film, rejected the idea of a gay Velma.
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The topic came up when a fan randomly asked the Slither director for a third installment of the live-action Scooby series. Gunn jokingly replied, "With the original cast? That would be one incredibly long life-span for a Great Dane." Another Twitter user followed up the original fan's request hoping for a gay Velma to be included in the film to which James Gunn replied,
"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)."
In an interview with Variety years ago, James Gunn revealed that the original version of the Scooby-Doo movie was considerably "edgier," and that the first cut was rated R by the MPAA. He also stated that the movie had received some drastic changes in post-production to the point that the cleavage of the actresses were reduced for the film to remain more child-friendly.
In series of responses to Tweets of hopeful fans wishing for a sexually ambiguous Velma, Gunn exposed that several deleted scenes verify her sexuality and she even serenades and kisses Daphne during one of the ousted scenes and he writes to his Twitter feed,
"1) She’s gay in the 1st draft. It’s not one line. I 1st shared this 12 years ago. 2) Uh, no. She serenades Daphne. And she kisses Daphne. Both of these were shot - all easily available, known information, just as everyone knows the movie was initially Rated R by the MPAA."
With Gunn's heavy involvement in the upcoming The Suicide Squad (2021) and The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2021), there's a slim chance that the directing heavy-hitter will be producing any films about a mystery-solving clique with a talking dog. Despite the fact that James Gunn's Tweets have gotten him in hot water in previous years, the fact that he's transparent and vocal about his work to this very day is truly appreciated by fans of cinema everywhere.
Check out one of James Gunn's latest Instagram post in the photo provided below.