The live-action movie was meant to be much, much darker

This 2002 film was going to be a dark and gritty look at how innocent and silly the show was. Fred was still going to be the prim and proper guy, while Shaggy was going to be an actual stoner, and Velma and Daphne were going to be lesbians. And, it was actually going to be violent.

But once the cast was signed on, the producers got cold feet and rewrote the movie as a family friendly affair. Plus, Hanna-Barbara likely put their foot down too, to ensure the movie lived up to the show’s legacy.

Considering the original screenwriter was James Gunn, this makes sense.