That’s my guess, at least, and seems to align with what was implied back in 2002. I imagine that any ambiguity regarding Velma’s sexuality was excised from the theatrical version over hand-wringing that the movie should be “family-friendly,” since all too often queer sexuality is automatically conflated with sexual situations. The movie was written in a darker, more adult tone, with winks to the original series intended for an older crowd (like Shaggy being a blatant stoner and a lot of weed references, instead of Shaggy being a subtextual stoner). Scooby-Doo was directed by Raja Gosnell, and though set up for a PG-13 rating, it was toned down considerably and released as PG. Considering the way major studios continue to dilute queer representation onscreen, however, it’s not surprising-and we’ve known since 2002 that some queerish moments were removed from the final cut. But the studio just kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend (the sequel).
I tried! In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script.
