Yes, the Velma series essentially ushers in a black Shaggy but they have changed his name to Norville, as the character's full name is Norville “Shaggy” Rogers.
In most incarnations of the series, Scooby is regarded as a unique Great Dane dog who is able to speak in broken English, and usually puts the letter "R" in front of words and noises made.
The remainder of the series' main cast has been announced, with Sam Richardson playing Norville (aka Shaggy), Glenn Howerton as Fred and Constance Wu as Daphne. Combined with Kaling playing a South Asian version of Velma, the cast now reflects the diversity of today.
Shaggy Is Black In Mindy Kaling's 'Velma' Series On HBO Max, Sam Richardson To Voice Character - SHADOW & ACT.
Orville Richard Burrell CD (born October 22, 1968), better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer who scored hits with the songs "It Wasn't Me", "Boombastic", "In The Summertime", "Oh Carolina", and "Angel".
Titled Velma, the series will follow an adult-oriented and metafictional "love quadrangle" Mystery Inc. with Velma portrayed as being of Indian descent, although aware that she is normally white.
Background. In most cases, Shaggy is from the fictional town of Coolsville, Ohio. When he was old enough to go to school, he adopted Scooby–Doo from the Knittingham Puppy Farm. Later on, he met Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley.
Much will be made of the demographic swaps, as “Velma” is indeed a “Scooby-Doo” that looks like America. Velma is Indian American, Norville is Black, and Daphne appears to be of Asian descent, though she's the adopted daughter of married lesbian detectives Donna and Linda (Jane Lynch and Wanda Sykes).
Shaggy's stoner status has become, over the years, something of pop culture lore. In fact, in the 2002 Scooby-Doo live-action movie there are multiple jokes hinting at just that. And if he was inspired by beatnik culture, then the obvious subtext that Shaggy — and maybe Scooby — were stoners makes a lot of sense.
During a Warner Bros Discovery Upfront presentation on May 18, the 42-year-old star spoke about her character Velma, who is a clumsy but smart member of the Mystery Inc. gang in the original series. Kaling, who voices Velma, also bluntly addressed the criticism of making her titular character South Asian.
They can be reimagined into whatever so long as you keep those elements, it's why Scooby-Doo has survived as a franchise for so long. Velma was also Latina in the latest Scoob movie, played by Gina Rodriguez. The characters have been reimagined many MANY times since the original airing of the show, this is nothing new.
Mystery Incorporated, Velma is in a romantic relationship with Shaggy, much to the distaste of Scooby-Doo. Their relationship ends in "Howl of the Fright Hound" (season 1, episode 10).
Scott Innes, a voice actor best known for voicing Shaggy on Scooby-Doo confirmed on Twitch that the character isn't as into smoking marijuana as some fans believe. The character of Shaggy is one of a lazy hippy who has a seemingly bottomless stomach, which some fans have theorized is due to him secretly being a smoker.
Shaggy and Velma's son in Scooby-Doo! Apocalypse. Daphne is his godmother and Scooby is his godfather. He is named after Fred Jones.
During production of the second season (1970), Casey Kasem became a strict vegetarian, and wanted his character Shaggy to follow suit. Kasem was promised by Hanna-Barbera that his character would become vegetarian from that point on.
Eyesight. Legally blind (Wikipedia): "Central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with corrective glasses." Velma can see fine with her glasses, so she's not legally blind.
Angel Dynamite is a character on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. She first appears in the first episode of the first season and is voiced by Vivica A. Fox.
Tony Cervone, one of the creators of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, has directly stated that Velma and Marcie Fleach are an official couple after the timeline resets in Come Undone, and even stated that Velma was a closeted lesbian before that.
Shaggy grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, and moved to Brooklyn with his mother, Veronica Miller, when he was 18. Two years ago, he moved to Valley Stream, where his manager and producer, Robert Livingston, lives. This is also where they run a business mostly built around Shaggy.
Rachel was Shaggy's girlfriend in the past and resents him now because he left her and Coolsville to solve mysteries with Velma, Daphne, Fred, and Scooby. Her dog Roxanne was a love interest of Scooby's at one point.
Fred Jones and Daphne Blake are members in Mystery Incorporated. They are also in a romantic relationship that developed during their late teen years.
Velma from Scooby-Doo is not straight, as many depictions of her have portrayed. Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated producer Tony Cervone confirmed in 2020 that Velma is a lesbian, and a promotional clip for Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! makes Velma gay in the canon.
The writers even said that Velma is a lesbian, leaving no room for doubt. Apparently, the team working on another Scooby-Doo show, Velma's own spin-off, didn't get the memo. In promotional material for the upcoming HBO Max show, it's mentioned that Velma has a "secret crush" on Fred - not Daphne.