It’s an exciting time to be a Velma fan! At New York Comic Con, Mindy Kaling revealed a stellar voice cast for HBO Max’s upcoming animated series.
The often-overlooked genius of Mystery inc., Velma Dinkley, will be voiced by Mindy Kaling in the adult animated series that delves into her origin story. She will be joined by Glenn Howerton, Sam Richardson and Constance Wu.
Howerton will play Fred in the series, Richardson will provide the voice for Norville—also known as Shaggy—and Wu will play Daphne.
Additional cast members include 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.
Since its inception in 1969, Frank Welker has provided the voice of Fred in almost every animated version of Scooby-Doo and many more. He’s also done the voice for Scooby in several shows.
Kaling revealed the character is South Asian, adding, “No one’s imaginations ever had a problem with a talking dog solving mysteries, so I think we can handle a brown Velma.”
Kaling executive produces Velma alongside Charlie Grandy (with whom she has frequently collaborated on shows such as The Office and The Mindy Project), Howard Klein, and Sam Register–the president of Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe.
HBO Max dropped a teaser trailer for Velma, hilariously poking fun at the anticipated complaints regarding the show’s evolution. Watch it below.
The new series will be an interesting watch for old and new Scooby-Doo fans. It’s refreshing to see a female character take centre stage, and with such an accomplished voice cast, Velma is sure to be a delightful addition to HBO Max’s growing slate of animated programming.
We can’t wait to watch it! Are you ready for a whole new world of monsters and mayhem?
