Former Velma Linda Cardellini thinks lesbian Velma is "great"
Scooby-Doo live action star Linda Cardellini points out that Velma's queerness was "hinted at so many times"
And so it finally came to pass in Trick Or Treat Scooby-Doo! that Velma Dinkley, she of the orange sweater and not being able to see without her glasses, is indeed a lesbian. Fans celebrated in the streets (…of Twitter) when a Mystery Inc. cartoon finally managed to canonize Velma’s long-speculated sexuality. Count amongst that number an actual former Velma, Linda Cardellini of Scooby-Doo and its very heterosexual sequel, Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed.
“Velma has been around since 1969; I just went trick or treating with my daughter and there were a lot of Velmas out there, so I love that she still has this place in culture that is sort of always active for decades,” Cardellini recently told Entertainment Weekly. “And I love—you know, I think it’s been hinted at so many times, and I think it’s great that it’s finally out there,” she said of the recent rise of lesbian Velma.
Velma’s sexual orientation has been a sticking point for certain modern adaptations. The closest we’ve previously come to a non-straight Velma is in the animated Mystery Incorporated series, in which Velma forms a close relationship with a classmate and rival named Marcie, which could be read somewhat ambiguously but was intended as romantic. (Supervising producer Tony Cervone confirmed as much on social media in 2020, writing that the romance was “as clear as we could make it 10 years ago.”)
Even Cardellini’s version of Velma was intended to be a lesbian, according to the film’s screenwriter James Gunn. “I tried!” He tweeted in 2020. “In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script. 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).”
Perhaps if he got another shot at it, the world would be more welcoming to live-action lesbian Velma. Cardellini is more than willing to put the glasses back on, responding “with a resounding ‘Oh God, yeah!’” when EW asked if she’d like to reprise the role. “I’m probably too old,” she said, but given how beloved the cast of those films is, it could be a perfect time to get the gang back together.