Scooby-Doo Writer James Gunn Says He Tried to Make Velma 'Explicitly Gay' But Studio Intervened

The 2002 movie Scooby-Doo was originally supposed to reveal a whole new side to Velma.

The family film featured Linda Cardellini as Velma and was written by Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director James Gunn, who recently revealed on Twitter he "tried" to make the fan-favorite character gay but was eventually shot down.

"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)," he wrote, adding an annoyed emoji.

PEOPLE reached out to Warner Bros., the studio behind the film, but did not immediately hear back.

Gunn then told a fan that some of the implications can still be seen in deleted scenes of the movie and that his original script would confirm that he tried to write her as a gay woman.

The writer originally replied to a fan who asked him to "please make our live-action lesbian Velma dreams come true."

Barry King/Getty James Gunn

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The conversation started after fans tweeted at Gunn asking to make a third movie in the franchise, which starred Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, and Matthew Lillard as Shaggy for two movies.

While the 2002 was a hit, making over $257 million worldwide, the 2004 sequel Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed received negative reviews and grossed $180 million.

Despite the second movie hitting theaters over 16 years ago, Gunn admitted he was surprised fans of the film were still so vocal about the franchise.

"I am shocked by how much the grown Scooby fans have increased their presence over the past year or so," he wrote.

Scooby-Doo was set to make a return to the big screen with this year's SCOOB!, an animated re-telling of how the Mystery gang got together. Warner Bros. eventually decided to switch the release to digital in May after the novel coronavirus pandemic shut down theaters across the world.