James Gunn Shares Disappointing Truth About the R-Rated Cut of a 2002 Family Movie

James Gunn was already known for delivering some brutal and gory R-rated movies by the time he wrote the 2002 live-action version of Scooby-Doo, and even though the Great Dane’s adventure could have joined the list, fans will never get to see the different version of the movie that didn’t hit cinemas.

Scooby Doo

Release Date

June 14, 2002

Runtime

88

Writers

James Gunn , Craig Titley , William Hanna , Joseph Barbera

Tagline

Be afraid. Be kind of afraid.

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Like many projects, Scooby-Doo underwent some changes between the initial drafting of the movie, its primary cut, and the version which was subsequently released. Gunn’s first script, and the first version of the movie that was submitted to the MPAA, was rejected for a family-friendly rating. The fact that an R-rated version of the film existed at one point is something that has led many fans to question whether what is known as the “Gosnell Cut” – after the show’s director – would ever be released. In his response on Threads, Gunn explained very curtly why it will never be released.

This is obviously a disappointment for anyone who feels the need to hunt down alternative versions of movies, but it doesn’t detract from the enjoyable adaptation of Scooby-Doo that still proves to be a talking point over 20 years later.

What Was Different in James Gunn’s R-rated Scooby-Doo Movie?

While Gunn has not elaborated on all of the reasons why his original Scooby-Doo script led to an R-rated movie, he did previously reveal one seemingly petty note that was received about the film. When questioned whether an R-rated cut had ever existed in a previous conversation, Gunn replied:

“And, yes, the rumors are true – the first cut was rated R by the MPAA, and the female stars’ cleavage was CGI’d away so as not to offend. But, you know, such is life.”

That was not the only issue the MPAA had with the movie, though. Following test screenings, the movie made significant changes to make its monsters less scary and a long way away from the soul-sucking demons from outer space that they were meant to be. Also the audience reaction to words like “demon” and “soul” was so extreme that the entire film had to be re-dubbed to remove all references, renaming demons as “creatures” and souls as “protoplasm” to avoid religious connotations.

Other changes included dropping a romance between Daphne and Velma, changing the more risky relationship between Daphne and Fred, not having Shaggy as a stoner, cutting a scene of Velma removing her top and dancing around while possessed, and several other changes to the movie’s creatures. Recently, Max series Velma attempted to bring the Scooby Gang – if not the main dog himself – to an adult arena, going much further than any of these cuts, and received a huge amount of backlash in reply.

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The most infamous character in Scooby-Doo may have been redeemed by the most notorious series in the Scooby-Doo franchise. What happened?

As well as the ongoing frequent release of new animated – child-friendly – movies featuring the characters, Scooby-Doo is heading for another live-action makeover in a new “more mature” TV show for Netflix, and off to Japan for an anime interpretation entitled Go-Go Mystery Machine. Both of these projects have just recently been announced, so it is still a little while before we see how these latest branchings of the six-decade-old canine-led show fare.