James Gunn wanted Velma to be 'explicitly gay' in Scooby-Doo movie

James Gunn has revealed he was stopped from making Scooby-Doo character Velma Dinkley from being "explicitly gay" in the live-action movie.

The filmmaker penned the script for the hit 2002 comedy, which starred Linda Cardellini as the fictional sleuth, alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, and Matthew Lillard as loveable goofball Shaggy.

During a recent Twitter Q&A, Gunn revealed that he wanted Cardellini's character to be a lesbian in the film, but was stopped by Warner Bros. executives.

"Please make our live-action lesbian Velma dreams come true," one follower asked him, prompting the Guardians of the Galaxy director to explain what really happened behind the scenes.

"I tried! In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script. But the studio kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous ( the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend (the sequel)," he replied.

He also added that viewers can see deleted scenes from the live-action movie that hint at Velma's attraction to women.

This isn't the first time that the stars involved in the franchise have discussed Velma's sexuality, as Gellar previously revealed that Daphne and Velma were originally supposed to kiss during a body swap scene in the 2002 comedy.

"It wasn't just, like, for fun... Initially in the soul-swapping scene, Velma and Daphne couldn't seem to get their souls back together in the woods, and so the way they found was to kiss and the souls went back into proper alignment. Linda is quite a kisser," she told Syfy Wire.

The actors reprised their roles for the 2004 sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, which was also written by Gunn.