On March 13th, writer/director Rob Thomas launched the largest Kickstarter campaign in history to support a movie version of his 2005-2007 series Veronica Mars. The show ran on the WB (later the CW), and since its cancellation six years ago, Thomas and lead actress Kristen Bell have publicly supported fans hopes for a continuation of it in some form. Those efforts were coming up empty until now. The WB, which still owns the rights to the Mars property, agreed to allow Thomas and Bell the chance to raise enough money for a film, with the caveat that if the fundraising goal was met, WB Digital Studios would foot the bill for advertising and distribution. In less than 24 hours, the crowd-sourced campaign to fund a film cleared its goal of $2 million and has surpassed the $3 million mark as of this writing. Fans of Mars arent the only ones paying attention to this speeding bullet of a story. The news of a studio-backed film being funded through the Kickstarter platform has raised excitement, ire, and not a few eyebrows in the entertainment community. The sudden debate surrounding this largely unprecedented effort is multifaceted and not a little challenging, for a variety of reasons. As the dust settles, well take a look at what the successful campaign does and does not mean for the parties involved, the fans, and the future of television and film. Hit Next to get started!