Theres been a lot of buzz and electricity generating around Comic Con this year as big, beloved properties are getting announcements that are really setting the fan world ablaze. Amidst all of that, theres a little success story thats as near and dear to some of our hearts as anything else being mentioned right now. After a Kickstarter campaign raised an unprecedented 5.7 million from more than 90,000 backers, Warner Bros agreed to creator Rob Thomas feature film pitch for his beloved (but cancelled) CW series Veronica Mars. For those of us who became fans of Kirsten Bells teenage detective, this idea of one more shot at the world of Veronica and her friends stirred the kind of excitement that fans of Firefly must have felt when Serenity got the chance to soar again. That moment of triumph was sweet but not so tangible; there was no film yet, only the promise of one, and much can change between the concept and the actual product(Im looking at you Arrested Development). So, its relieving and a bit exciting to finally see some footage and the talking heads of old friends we havent seen in a while. For those that dont necessarily need a self-congratulatory remembrance of the crowd-funding success, you can skip to the 3 minute mark of the video and watch the trailer itself.
From where Im sitting, it looks good, although clearly aimed squarely at fans, which is as it should be. As long as Thomas takes this sense of reunion and marries it to a fresh story, theres probably very little to worry about. I got a kick out of seeing everyone seemingly stepping back into character with little turbulence, even if I cant quite look at Tina Majorino and not remember that little feral sea-pup from Waterworld. Theres also a new face or two, including Jamie Lee Curtis! Kudos to the last note of the footage, where Bells Mars effectively dodges a wet shirt struggle with a well-placed, hard-boiled punch. Of the plot,
USA Today reports that Thomas had this to say during the Comic Con panel: "I can tell you that it sort of has a
Godfather III theme, which seems odd. ... Why not pick
Godfather II, a better movie. She has not worked as a private investigator since the last time you saw her in Season 3. Part of the movie is her getting pulled back into this life she thought she left behind." What do you think of the footage and the trailer? Have no idea what a Veronica Mars even is? Catch the first three seasons on DVD or On Demand, they are well worth your time.