Scooby-Doo: Sarah Michelle Gellar on James Gunn’s “less family-friendly” script and saucy deleted scenes

Last Updated on February 8, 2023

Before James Gunn was the co-Head of DC Studios, he investigated bizarre happenings alongside Mystery Incorporated for 2004’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. The family-friendly adventure found Scooby and the gang saving Coolsville from an army of monsters they’ve defeated in the past. While the film’s final cut is safe for kiddies, Sarah Michelle Gellar, who plays Dahpne in the movie, says Gunn’s original script was racier, and the cast was down to make it happen.

Speaking with “Watch What Happens Live,” Gellar says Gunn shot an intimate kiss between her character and Linda Cardellini’s Velma. “There was a steamy kiss. It got cut. There was an actual kiss between Daphne and Velma that got cut,” Gellar said. “I feel like the world wants to see it. I don’t know where it is.” Additionally, Gellar says an insult Daphne made to Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr.) about Fred being gay fell to the cutting room floor.

“There was a great line too that I’ll never forget,” Gellar said. “Daphne and Fred were having a fight and I yell at him, ‘That ascot makes you look gay!’ I slam the door [at him]. They cut that, too. I think that was the reason I signed onto the movie. It’s something everyone’s thought for a long time. There’s always been an implication about Fred being interested in both parties. It all got cut.”

Gellar’s comments about Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed align with Gunn’s 2020 tweets, in which he revealed Velma was gay in his original script. “In 2001, Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script,” Gunn said about Cardellini’s version of the ultra-inquisitive super sleuth. “But the studio just kept watering it down and watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) and finally having a boyfriend (the sequel).”

While Velma presents as straight in the final cut of Gunn’s film, she identifies as gay in 2021’s Scooby-Doo movie, Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo. The reveal caused a stir online, with many fans celebrating the milestone. Mindy Kaling’s Velma in the HBO Max animated series Velma also presents the character as a member of the LGBTQA+ community, doubling down on what we’ve all suspected for decades.

Should Warner Bros. have collected their stones and let Gunn film his original script? Can we get #ReleaseTheGunnCut trending on Twitter to preserve a kiss that would fulfill countless fantasies? Feel free to let us know in the comments below.