'Veronica Mars' Movie Getting Made If Fans Pitch in the Money
At long last, the cult-favorite TV show "Veronica Mars" is making the leap to the big screen … if creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell can raise $2 million from fans on Kickstarter.
It's been more than five years since the smart, sassy teen detective series said farewell. Since then, Thomas and Bell have teased the possibility of a follow-up film, but the prospect seemed unlikely, since the series was so low-rated on UPN and The CW.
But fans never gave up hope, and neither did Bell.
"We all became so close, and the cancellation of the show left a huge hole in my heart," she told Entertainment Weekly. "I would have put on 'Veronica Mars: The Circus' to bring it back."
She can hold off on trapeze training for now since Thomas has come up with a novel plan: Raise $2 million in 30 days on Kickstarter, the crowdsourcing site. If they reach that goal, Warner Bros. will chip in the money for marketing, promotion, and distribution.
So far (as of 2:40 PM ET), fans had pledged over $918,000. An excited Bell tweeted:
all this excitement is prolly gonna send me into early labor. #iamsoexcited #veronicamarsmovie kickstarter.com/projects/55991…
— Kristen Bell(@IMKristenBell) March 13, 2013
GOOD GOD YOU GUYS RULE. #veronicamarsmovie
— Kristen Bell(@IMKristenBell) March 13, 2013
If the goal is met, the low-budget movie would film this summer and be released in spring 2014, first in theaters and then on digital platforms.
On the Kickstarter page, Thomas revealed that Veronica has taken a hiatus from solving cases, but "something big is about to bring her back home and back to her calling." And we can expect a lot of familiar faces, since it'll be time for Neptune High's 10-year high school reunion.
As a fun teaser, the page also features a tongue-in-cheek short video with "Veronica Mars" cast members Bell, Ryan Hansen, Jason Dohring, and Enrico Colantoni. (Watch it above in Bell's tweet.)
[Related: Watch Ryan Hansen on Yahoo! Screen's 'Burning Love']
"This is our shot. I believe it's the only one we've got," Thomas wrote. "It's nerve-wracking. I suppose we could fail in spectacular fashion, but there's also the chance that we completely revolutionize how projects like ours can get made. No Kickstarter project ever has set a goal this high."