Scooby-Doo star Sarah Michelle Gellar dropped some major behind-the-scenes information regarding the 2002 live-action production during a recent visit to Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live. Gellar confirmed a “steamy” kiss between her character, Daphne, and Linda Cardellini’s character, Velma, which was ultimately cut.

The two actresses starred in the James Gunn-scripted film alongside Matthew Lillard (Shaggy) and Freddie Prinze Jr. (Fred). According to Gellar, all four of the actors signed on to the project because it was significantly “less family-friendly” than the animated franchise. Unfortunately, the film’s final version that made it to a theatrical release cut many of the previously filmed risqué scenes.

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“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.”

Later in the interview, Gellar also revealed that a scene was filmed in which her character jokes about Fred being gay, though the scene was eventually cut.

“There was a great line too that I’ll never forget,” Gellar admitted. “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.” Check out Gellar’s interview below.

James Gunn’s Original Plan Was for Scooby-Doo to Be Explicitly Queer

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In keeping with Gellar’s Watch What Happens Live interview, James Gunn revealed in a 2020 Twitter thread that it was initially his plan to make Cardellini’s Velma openly gay in the live-action film franchise, including the 2004 sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. However, the studio ultimately denied the request.

“In 2001, Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script,” Gunn wrote. “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).”

That being said, the queer-coding of Velma’s character, originally debuted in 1969 as part of the animated series Scooby-Doo; Where Are You?, was finally made canon in the 2022 animated movie Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!. In the film, Velma’s crush, another female character, Coco Diablo, is made explicit. Similarly, Velma is portrayed as queer in HBO Max’s Mindy Kaling-led animated prequel series Velma.

“Velma has been around since 1969,” Cardellini said following the release of Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! “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. Also, I think [her being a lesbian has] been hinted at so many times, and I think it’s great that it’s finally out there.”