It has been whispered for years in fandom, and now, Warner Bros Discovery has acknowledged, per the new Scooby-Doo DTV DVD, "Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo", that Velma Dinkley is, in fact, gay.
Seems the plot involves Velma crushing on a female crime boss. "Trick or Treat", already out on digital DVD, drops on HBO Max on October 15.
From what we understand, noted director James Gunn, who had a hand in scripting the two live-action theatrical "Scooby-Doo" movies 20 years ago, wanted Velma to be presented as gay in those films, but Warners was a little reluctant at the time, image & merchandising being a big reason.
Meanwhile, Mindy Kaling's forthcoming Velma is filling out its cast. As we've previously reported, Shaggy is being flipped to African-American (voiced by Sam Richardson). Constance Wu (ex-Fresh Off The Boat) has been cast as Daphne, and Glenn Howerton will play Fred. Kaling has assembled a roster of guest stars including Wanda Sykes, Jane Lynch, "Weird" Al Yankovic, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, and NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns. Frank Welker, long the voice of Fred, will play a different role in the new series, which will drop on HBO Max sometime in 2023. To tie you over, WB Animation has released a teaser video, which premiered today at the NY Comic Con.
Mindy has the voice down, and, as you can see, with Velma being rebooted as having roots in India, she now has darker skin, which won't sit well in certain parts of this country. As for the news of Velma being rebooted as gay, there are certain corners of fandom that won't dig that, either, but then again, 25 years ago, Ellen DeGeneres came out, merited the cover of Time, and became a bigger star. Surprisingly, according to at least one headline I've seen, the usual right wing suspects are suspiciously silent----for now.
We'll see how this all plays out over the next few months. Velma will have 10 episodes in season 1, but beyond that is anyone's guess.
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