‘Velma’: Constance Wu, Sam Richardson, and More Join ‘Scooby-Doo’ Animated Prequel Series!!

HBO Max‘s prequel series Velma will give the unsung hero of the Mystery Inc. gang plenty of star power to work with. At a panel during New York Comic Con, series star Mindy Kaling revealed the entire cast who would join her version of Velma Dinkley, including who would make up the rest of the Scooby Gang. While it’s still Velma’s origin story, she’ll be joined by her mystery-solving friends with Constance Wu (Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile) as Daphne, Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso) as Shaggy, and Glenn Howerton (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as Fred.

Beyond its starry headliners, the series will feature a dream ensemble packed with stars from across the industry. That includes Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Ken Leung, Cherry Jones, Frank Welker, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Fortune Feimster, Yvonne Orji, Sarayu Blue, Nicole Byer, Ming-Na Wen, Shay Mitchell, Debby Ryan, Kulap Vilaysak, and Karl-Anthony Towns, though all of their roles are currently unknown.

Velma will give the brains of Mystery Inc. her due as it follows her past before she ever set foot in the Mystery Machine. Billed as an adult animated series with a blend of comedy and horror, it will “unmask the complex and colorful past of one of America’s most beloved mystery solvers.” With the announcement that the Mystery Inc. team will not only be a part of her origin story but also be the leads alongside her, the series could give a glimpse at her history with the gang and their friendship before they officially started unmasking ghouls together.

For fans of the character, this news only continues what has been an unprecedented winning streak for Velma. Recently, a clip for the new movie Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! saw Velma officially come out as a Lesbian, following years of speculation and attempts from creatives like James Gunn and Tony Cervone to let the character confirm it. The clip in question saw her speechless at the sight of costume designer Coco Diablo. There’s no word if Kaling’s series will bring up Velma’s romantic interests, but it will still experiment with her character with Kaling previously saying that her Velma will be South Asian.

Aside from starring in Velma, Kaling will also assume executive production duties alongside Sam Register and her former The Office colleagues Charlie Grandy and Howard Klein. Grandy will also serve as the showrunner on the series.

Velma will debut its ten-episode first season on HBO Max sometime in 2023. In the meantime, check out the clip of Velma fawning over Coco below.

Velma first meets Coco Diablo in “Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo”#Scoobydoohistory pic.twitter.com/TnWGS0B5GK

— Scooby-Doo History (@scoobyhistory) October 4, 2022