Guardians of the GalaxyJames Gunn got his big break in Hollywood writing the much-remembered 2002 live-action movie Scooby Doo. Although it was mocked by cranky critics on the original release, the goofy adventure still has its fans and regularly appears on various streaming charts.

But now Gunn has confirmed that the PG rating Scooby Doo once was very different. On Twitter, Gunn revealed that he and director Raja Gosnell were seeking a PG-13 rating for the film, but that the MPAA gave it an R rating.

The first Scooby-Doo was originally intended (by me, the producers, and the director, Raja Gosnell) to be PG-13, but we never got a PG-13 rating. The first MPAA rating was R, and then a bunch of things were changed, and that cut ended up being PG. https://t.co/sfZO79kErK

—James Gunn (@JamesGunn) September 20, 2022

This rating would likely have been fatal to its box office prospects, and the studio ordered that it be altered to appeal to a younger audience.

So what could an R rating do? Scooby Doo be like? Gunn previously poked fun at the original version, saying on Facebook in 2017 that his script was intended to lean into what the original show only implied, with perhaps the main reason for the R being that Gunn’s Velma was explicitly gay. Gunn even confirmed that the script showed Velma openly admiring Daphne, that the two would kiss later, and that there was a line that the MPAA thought referred to oral sex.

Scared, the studio not only removed all of this, but even CGI removed Daphne and Velma’s cleavage. The film was resubmitted and given a PG rating. We’d love to see the R-rated version, so come on Scoob fans, let’s unite and campaign fiercely to release the ‘Gunn Cut’.

Scooby Doo is available to stream on HBO Max.