One of New York Comic-Con’s most exciting panels is for Velma, a new animated series from executive producer Mindy Kaling and showrunner Charlie Grandy. The former The Office breakout, a multifaceted talent in her own right, will voice Velma Dinkley in a reimagining of the character that sees her come from South Asian descent. Velma, who is billed as “the mystery before the Inc.”, will explore the origins of the title character and the rest of the iconic Scooby-Doo gang from an adult-oriented viewpoint. Kaling and Grandy were on hand at NYCC to discuss the series in-depth for the press, and Murphy’s Multiverse was in attendance to make note of it all.
Kaling began the panel by explaining that Velma was chosen as the protagonist because she offered the most unique perspective for storytelling. She also mentioned that she was happy to play the character because Dinkley was always the one she related to the most. Projects like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Riverdale were mentioned as inspirations for telling diverse stories about teenagers in the modern world, with a change to adult-oriented comedy giving fans of the franchise a new way of looking at the Scooby-Doo universe. Kaling clarified the series will not be for children and will cover topics like “teenage urges“. Grandy mentioned he wanted to take a look at why a group of kids would commit their lives to hunting criminals and solving murders, which Kaling ensured the press would be actually sort of terrifying.
Finally, the creative team confirmed Velma would take cues from the original 1960s series but would mostly have its own voice. Fans can expect to see origins for Velma’s famous “JINKIES!” catchphrase, and Shaggy’s well-known nickname. He’ll be called by his birth name otherwise. Velma’s relationship with her father will also be a major part of the series, something Kaling was especially excited about. More will be revealed when the cast and crew take the Main Stage later today, but for now, fans can feast their minds on more Velma information than ever before.
