James Gunn Confirms His Scooby-Doo Movie Was Originally PG-13

There have long been rumors and reports that 2002’s Scooby-Doo: The Movie, written by Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director James Gunn, was originally rated R, a far cry from the family film that was released in theaters. Fans have consistently asked about the original version of the film for years, wondering what rated-R Scooby movie would’ve looked like. Finally, Gunn is setting the record straight about his initial plans for Scooby-Doo. On Friday morning, a fan tweeted at Gunn and asked about the R-rated version of Scooby-Doo, referring to it as “The Gunn Cut.” Gunn revealed that it was just one joke that tipped the scales towards R during a test screening.

“That would be #ReleasetheGosnellCut since Raja Gosnell was the director (& is an exceedingly nice guy),” Gunn wrote in the tweet. “Yes, the first MPAA rating was R but it was only because of one stupid joke the MPAA misinterpreted.”

In two subsequent tweets, Gunn went on to explain that the intention for the film was to make it PG-13, not R. However, after a couple of parents complained at a test screening, Warner Bros. wanted to tone the film down and make it PG. This led to plenty of things getting cut from the movie.

“The movie was originally meant to be PG-13 and was cut down to PG after like 3 parents were outraged at a test screening in Sacramento. The studio decided to go a more family friendly route,” Gunn explained. “Language and jokes and sexual situations were removed, including a kiss between Daphne and Velma. Cleavage was CGI’d over. But, thankfully, the farting remained.”

There are probably plenty of fans who wish that the PG-13 cut would’ve remained in place, and at one time Gunn believed the same. However, over the years, the writer has been a little less sure.

“I thoughts at the time the rating change was a mistake,” he added. “I felt like a lot of teens came out for the first film and didn’t get what they wanted (and didn’t come back for the sequel). But today I don’t know. So many young kids loved those movies, which is pretty cool.”

“Also, for the record I doubt any of those old cuts still exist,” Gunn concluded.

What did you think of Gunn and Gosnell’s Scooby Doo movies? Would you have liked to have seen the PG-13 versions instead? Let us know in the comments!