'The Office' Stanley Spinoff Is Stalled as Star Leslie David Baker Gives Back $110,000 to Hopeful Fans

Leslie David Baker said funds from the 2020 Kickstarter campaign for the project have remained "accounted for and untouched in the account," except for reward fulfillment and backer refunds

Leslie David Baker is refunding his fans more than $100,000 dollars after plans for a spinoff centered around his Office character Stanley Hudson stalled.

The 65-year-old actor announced he will return donations made to his 2020 Kickstarter campaign for a proposed project called Uncle Stan.

“We apologize about the delay in updates,” Baker shared on Instagram. “We have been working behind the scenes to get everything on track and rewards fulfilled. We are just as excited as all of you to get this project out and truly appreciate all of your patience and support.”

Related: The Office's Leslie David Baker Launches Kickstarter to Fund Uncle Stan Spinoff

“The project took longer than anticipated due to circumstances beyond our control,” he continued. “Initial delays were caused because of the COVID lockdowns and pushed us back further than expected.”

He noted that now, the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strikes have led the series “to be on hold indefinitely until an agreement is reached.”

“After careful consideration, we have decided to refund our backers,” he shared while promising to still fulfill the backers rewards “as a token of our appreciation for your support and patience.”

Related: 'The Office' Cast: Where Are They Now?

“In light of the current economic situation, we felt that this was the best course of action,” Baker explained. “You will receive a message notifying you of your refund as soon as it is issued and you can expect to receive it over the following weeks. We will also be contacting Kickstarter to facilitate expediting this matter. We have remained in constant communication with our backers via direct messaging and rewards have continued to be fulfilled during this time.”

Baker went on to clarify the dollar value of the donations they received, noting that while the Kickstarted campaign page showed a total funded amount of $336,450.53, they actually received $110,629.81.

“A large portion of backers’ pledges were lowered, or completely dropped and never collected once the campaign was completed," he explained. “The funds were never used for any purposes other than reward fulfillment and backer refunds, and have otherwise remained accounted for and untouched in the account.”

Related: 'The Office' Star Rainn Wilson Says He 'Spent Several Years Really Mostly Unhappy' on Beloved Series

In July 2020, Baker — who played Stanley Hudson for all nine seasons on The Office — teased the beloved character's potential return in series of videos on Instagram. Sitting on his porch in a bright Hawaiian shirt, Baker assumed the character's famously grumpy mannerisms and tone.

"Yeah, I'm back," he said with a sigh in one video. "And I'm going to need a cocktail if I'm staying."

In his captions, Baker directed fans to the Kickstarter page for a project, which would chronicle Stanley coming out of retirement.

The project description read: "After enjoying his retirement in Florida, carving wood, enjoying the white sand beaches, and dancing to old disco, Uncle Stan (Leslie David Baker) gets a call from his nephew Lucky in Los Angeles asking for help with his two kids and running his motorcycle/flower shop. With his business failing, his kids growing up without enough attention, and on the brink of losing his patience with the cast of characters he has working in the shop, Lucky is going to need all the help he can get from no-nonsense Uncle Stan."

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"When Lucky picks up his uncle at LAX in a motorcycle with a sidecar laden with flowers and no room for his luggage, Uncle Stan knows that he will be in for quite the adventure and challenge. With his unique personality and business acumen that he has acquired over decades, Stan is sure to clash once or twice with the wild personalities that Lucky has working in the shop. With his lady friend and soon-to-be fiancé completely in the dark, Uncle Stan must take swift action to make sure that not only his nephew comes out on top, but that he is able to maintain some semblance of his previously comfortable lifestyle moving forward."

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