Skip to main content

‘Veronica Mars’ appears on Kickstarter in hopes of a second chance, then promptly decimates records

 veronica_marsThe TV show Veronica Mars may soon return as a feature film thanks to a new Kickstarter project started by the series’ creator, Rob Thomas.

In the words of thousands of fans around the world right now, “squee.” Feel free to extend that into a shrill yell. Be sure to up the octaves.

Recommended Videos

When there is a TV show that resonates with a person, a show that just seems to them to be head-and-shoulders above the general swamp of mediocre programming that dominates the airwaves, those fans aren’t quick to simply let it go when that show is cancelled before its time. It’s sort of like holding a grudge, but in a happier way, and often with Cosplay. 

Fans don’t react well when that happens, but in the best cases they mobilize. The original Star Trek was cancelled after just three seasons, but fan support was so strong that it spawned a film which in turn spawned an empire. When the CBS drama Jericho was cancelled, fans mailed in over 20 tons of peanuts to the CBS offices in support of the show. Explaining why they sent peanuts would take longer than it was worth, but the campaign worked, and CBS commissioned an 8 episode second season. The show was again cancelled after that, but the fan campaign alone kept Jericho going despite relatively low ratings. And of course Joss Whedon’s Firefly managed to squeeze out the movie Serentiy after the show’s cancellation after just 14 episodes. A decade later the show still draws huge crowds at ComicCon.

Hell hath no fury like the fan of a show cancelled too early, and to that list of programs that saw a premature death but retains passionate fans, you can firmly add Veronica Mars.

The detective noir drama starring Kristen Bell as a high school – and then college age – sleuth debuted on UPN in 2004 and lasted just three seasons. For years afterwards, both Thomas and Bell discussed the possibilities of a feature film, but despite Bell’s growing popularity and a determined fanbase, the relatively poor DVD sales scared away most potential Hollywood backers.

Earlier today, Thomas began a Kickstarter campaign to raise $2 million by April 12 to fund the film independently. Not only does it look like Thomas will easily reach that mark in less than 12 hours, it appears that the Veronica Mars movie project will smash that initial goal. The project hit $1 million in just over 4 hours and shows no signs of slowing.

Before today, the most successful Film & Video project to appear on Kickstarter was Video Game High School: Season Two, which hit its goal of $636,010, then went on to take in over $800K total. Not only has the Veronica Mars Kickstarter project surpassed that, it did so in a matter of hours.

The top earning Kickstarter project to date is the Pebble: E-paper watch, which received nearly $10.3 million thanks to 69,000 backers. At this rate, there is a good chance that the Veronica Mars project will soon pass that total. But even if it misses that lofty height, the project seems certain to reach its funding goal. Assuming it does, the project will begin filming this summer, with a projected release date of February 2013. Warner Bros. still owns the rights to the property, but according to Thomas, “Kristen and I met with the Warner Bros. brass, and they agreed to allow us to take this shot. They were extremely cool about it, as a matter of fact. Their reaction was, if you can show there’s enough fan interest to warrant a movie, we’re on board.”

Rejoice, fans of cancelled TV series! Assuming the Veronica Mars project reaches its goal, and assuming those involved can release a successful film (which is anything but a given), it could offer new hope to fans of cancelled TV shows everywhere. 

Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
3 new PS Plus games that you should check out (November 1-3)
Key art for Return to Monkey Island.

We've still got to wait a little longer before November's PlayStation Plus Essential monthly titles become available. For PS Plus subscribers who are looking for something to play but don't want to spend money on new games like Life is Strange: Double Exposure or Dragon Age: The Veilguard, October's list of PS Plus Extra game catalog additions was vast enough that there's still more great stuff there for you to try out. Those are the games I'm recommending you try out this weekend.
Return to Monkey Island
Return to Monkey Island | Gameplay Reveal Trailer

The Monkey Island series of adventure games helped put LucasArts on the map in the 1990s and still stand the test of time as some of the best titles in the genre. In 2022, series creator Ron Gilbert and designer Dave Grossman released a new game in the franchise called Return to Monkey Island. It once again stars pirate Guybrush Threepwood as he clashes with LeChuck while trying to find the secret of Monkey Island. Return to Monkey Island plays well on a controller for a point-and-click adventure game and still sports the classic humor in writing and puzzle design that made the originals iconic.

Read more
3 new Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (November 1-3)
xbox game pass recommendations november 1 throne and liberty

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was a monumental addition to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate last week, so no week of additions to the service will live up to that for a while. Still, that didn't stop some more games from trickling onto Microsoft's subscription service in the wake of the latest Call of Duty. In fact, the games that came to the service were quite good. If you're wondering what you should be checking out next as a Game Pass subscriber after you're done with Black Ops 6, consider trying one of these games.
Ashen
ASHEN | Gamescom 2018 Gameplay

In July, A44 released Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, and it was part of Xbox Game Pass from day one. Now, the studio has brought its previous Soulslike to the subscription service. Originally released in 2018, Ashen stood out from the crowd at the time thanks to its distinct, grayish cel-shaded look and open-world design years before Elden Ring came out. Ashen still stands as one of the best indie Soulslikes ever released, so those who have never played it before should give it a shot now that it's on Xbox Game Pass. It'll also make for an enjoyable Game Pass Soulslike double-feature with Flintlock.

Read more
Black Ops 6 just can’t compete with these 2 RPGs on Steam
Lucanis in Dragon Age: The Veilguard in center frame.

Despite Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on its way to being one of the biggest Call of Duty launches of all time, two role-playing games are giving it a run for its money.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the latest RPG from BioWare and the first Dragon Age game in over a decade, is currently selling better on Steam than Black Ops 6 just a day after release. According to the Steam top sellers list, The Veilguard is just barely outranking Black Ops 6's single-player campaign as the top seller on the platform, followed by MMO Throne and Liberty and Monster Hunter Wilds, an open beta for which launched on Friday.

Read more