Many Scooby-Doo fans are furious that Scooby-Doo would not appear in the upcoming series set in the universe.
Where’s Scooby-Doo?
HBO Max is scheduled to air Velma in 2023, but since information regarding its casting has become public, there has been a significant backlash.
The series makes no appearances of Scooby-Doo, and Shaggy will be referred to by his real name, Norville Rogers.
Shaggy will now be portrayed in the new series as a Black male, and Sam Richardson, an Emmy nominee, will provide the character’s voice. The new Shaggy will go by the name of Norville.
While many have commended the show’s creators for adding diversity to the iconic characters, some people are not pleased that Scooby is not at all present.
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The creator of TikTok, Brittany Venti, reiterated this when she discussed the Velma series on her channel.
She uttered: “No one objects to the presence of Black characters; the issue arises when original characters are drastically altered.
“Scooby-Doo is no longer a part of this; he isn’t even mentioned.
“It’s not only they are taking something as we know it and utterly modifying it and gutting it of what we recognize it as.
“Why do we think it is appropriate to take a children’s TV show and politicize it is another point of dispute I have not heard addressed yet.
You are politicizing a children’s program by diverting attention from the show and placing it on race.
Despite Venti’s opinions, Mindy Kaling, who plays Velma in the sitcom, is unconcerned by the backlash the show has received.
“I think of the characters in this as so iconic, but in no way is the gang defined by their whiteness, save for Fred,” Velma stated during her New York Comic-Con presentation.
So, I was a little taken aback, and I believe that most Indian-American females can relate to her when they realize that she is suspicious, industrious, and underappreciated.
Charlie Grandy, the Velma showrunner, talked about the choice to cut Scooby-Doo from the program during the same session.
“We wanted to be polite when we went into the show and thought about modifying it,” he stated.
We didn’t want to simply take these adored characters and place them in strange or repulsive circumstances and then ask, “Isn’t it weird you did that to Velma?
We were unable to come up with a solution that said, “How can we kind of approach this in a fun, modern way?”
“I felt that Scooby-Doo was what made it a kid program.”
