It has been announced via The Hollywood Reporter that Mindy Kaling (The Office, Never Have I Ever) has found the other members of her Scooby Gang. During the New York Comic Con, Mindy Kaling announced who will get to voice Daphne, Fred, and Shaggy in her new iteration of the classic mystery-solving show.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kaling revealed that Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians, The Hustlers) would be voicing Daphne while Glenn Howerton (The Mindy Project, How It Ends) would be voicing Fred and Sam Richardson (Hocus Pocus 2, HouseBroken) would be voicing Shaggy. Mindy Kaling (The Office, The Morning Show) herself will voice Velma.
The cast announcement also included actors like Jane Lynch (Glee, Final Space), Shay Mitchell (Pretty Little Liars, You), and Debby Ryan (Jessie, Insatiable), among others, in unknown roles. One of the actors included in the announcement is Frank Welker (Star Wars Resistance, Curious George) who, according to The Hollywood Reporter, has voiced Fred in almost every animated version of the character since its beginnings in 1969. Welker has also voiced Scooby in several productions.
In May, Kaling showed a still from Velma where the audience can see that the character is going to be South Asian. According to Deadline, Kaling received backlash for this decision. Fans were not bothered when it was announced that Kaling was doing the voice of Velma but when she announced that the character was going to be South Asian, people complained online.
Kaling will also executive produce Velma with her frequent collaborator Charlie Grandy (The Office, The Mindy Project), Howard Klein (Jessica Jones, Ordinary Joe), and Sam Register (Harley Quinn, Teen Titans Go!) who is also the president of Warner Bros. Animation, and Cartoon Network.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Velma is going to be gruesome unlike many of the iterations of Scooby Doo. Kaling revealed an image from the show where the audience can see how a South Asian Velma comes across a new mystery when she finds a young woman with the top of her head sliced off. Unlike other iterations of the mystery-solving gang, Velma will be aimed at an older audience and will include more gory scenes.
The series is set to debut in 2023. In the meantime, don’t forget to watch the new teaser trailer.