Linda Cardellini Ectastic Her Character Is Lesbian
Linda Cardellini, who played Velma in 2002's Scooby-Doo movie and the sequel, is thrilled that the character is now canonically lesbian.
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Actress Linda Cardellini is ecstatic that one Scooby-Doo mystery has been solved. In the case of is-she-or-isn’t-she, Velma Dinkley is officially a lesbian, and according to Variety, Cardellini is thrilled.
After decades of hints, our favorite Scooby Gang member in an orange turtleneck and glasses has officially come out of the closet. In the recently released new Scooby-Doo animated movie, Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo, Velma crushes hard on another female character named Coco Diablo. Fans of Scooby-Doo, a franchise that has been around since 1969, have long speculated that Velma was gay and are celebrating that it is officially canon.
Linda Cardellini is among the celebrating fans, saying that she thinks it’s “great that it’s finally out there.” Cardellini played Velma in the 2002 live-action Scooby film, Scooby-Doo, and its sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, released in 2004. Both of the live-action Scooby movies were written by James Gunn, who is most well-known for directing Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and DC’s The Suicide Squad (2021).
In his original script for the first live-action Scooby-Doo, Gunn realized that Velma had been a gay icon for decades, and he tried to portray that in the development of Cardellini’s character. He wrote on Twitter, “In 2001, Velma was explicitly gay.” Unfortunately, Warner Bros. disagreed with portraying the character in this way and continuously watered down the representation until Velma became ambiguous.
Then, in the sequel, they removed any ambiguity by giving Velma a boyfriend named Patrick Wisely, played by Seth Green.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Linda Cardellini said when she went trick-or-treating with her daughter this year, she saw a lot of people dressed up as Velma. For a character that has been around for more than 50 years, Cardellini thinks it’s great that Velma is still a part of popular culture and is finally getting recognized as the gay icon she has always been.
The Scooby-Doo franchise was created by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears for Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1969. At the time of its creation, Velma probably wasn’t written as a gay character. However, in the 53 years since its initial release, there have been plenty of hints that Velma was indeed a lesbian.
Even in the Mystery Incorporated (2010-2013) Scooby-Doo animated series where Velma dates Shaggy, Velma was apparently supposed to be gay. Series supervising producer Tony Cervone wrote on Instagram in 2020 that even though Velma was in a hetero-relationship, the show was dropping hints that she was trying to figure out her sexuality. Their intention was to have Velma end up with Marcie, a female character.
He said that they aimed to be “as clear as we could make it 10 years ago.”
When asked if she would play Velma in a live-action film again, Linda Cardellini said yes, “but I’m probably too old.”
Cardellini is currently on a press tour to promote the third and final season of her Netflix dark-comedy series, Dead To Me, which also stars Christina Applegate. The series’ final season debuts on November 17.
