OMG, Scooby Doo's Velma Officially Came Out As A Lesbian
Check out this scene from the new Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! movie.
Jinkies! Scooby-Doo’s Mystery Inc. gang is back at it again in the new Halloween movie Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! But not everything about this movie is spooky. There’s actually a super sweet moment that’ll have you tearing up. As shown in a viral clip from the film, which was released on HBO Max on Oct. 4, Velma officially comes out as a lesbian. She’s shown falling head over heels for costume designer Coco Diablo from the moment she lays eyes on her.
Velma’s coming out has been two decades in the making. Back in the early 2000s, the initial script for the live-action 2002 Scooby-Doo movie reportedly included overt references to Velma’s sexuality that never made the final version that was released in theaters. In the live-action film, as well as the 2004 sequel, Linda Cardellini played Velma.
According to Variety, in 2020, Scooby-Doo writer James Gunn tweeted that he “tried” to show Velma’s sexuality in the live-action film clearly. “In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script,” he wrote in a since-deleted tweet, per Variety. “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, supervising producer for the early-2010s Cartoon Network series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, reportedly confirmed Velma’s sexuality during Pride Month in 2020. “I’ve said this before, but Velma in Mystery Incorporated is not bi. She’s gay,” Cervone wrote in a since-edited Instagram caption, per Variety. “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.”
Cervone’s current Instagram caption on the 2020 post includes a mention of Marcie Fleach, another character in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. “Marcie and Velma - Mystery Incorporated. I obviously don’t represent every version of Velma Dinkley, but I am one of the key people that represents this one. We made our intentions as clear as we could ten years ago. Most of our fans got it. To those that didn’t, I suggest you look closer. There’s no new news here,” Cervone wrote.
On the same day Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! dropped, clips from the film showing Velma’s attraction to a new female character quickly spread on Twitter. From her first screen appearance, Coco Diablo makes Velma’s heart flutter. As seen in the clip, when Velma first sees the costume designer, she loses her ability to speak as her glasses fog over and she starts blushing. Later, in a separate clip, the gang teams up with Coco for their mission. When Coco calls Velma cute and puts her hand on her shoulder, Velma can barely contain herself.
Interestingly enough, Coco is introduced in the movie as a villain, as she’s the leader of an evil costume crime syndicate who works with some of the group’s most notorious enemies. But after the gang has her locked away in prison, some of their old foes come back to haunt them, and they need Coco’s help to fight them. The bespectacled costume designer joins forces with the gang to save the day — much to Velma’s delight.
Consider this sapphic Scooby couple officially shipped.
