A fan-fueled Kickstarter project sparked the popular show "Veronica Mars" film spin-off, but show creator Rob Thomas tells the Hollywood Reporter that the upcoming movie starring Kristen Bell won't be the end of the story. Vintage Books has signed a deal to publish two follow-up novels to the movie in stories based on the adult lives of the characters, and Thomas had a big part to play.
The book series will be an original mystery that will pick up where the events of the upcoming movie (slated for a 2014 release) leave off. Thomas will co-write and develop the book series that will likely hit shelves in spring 2014.
"I started my career as a novelist. Veronica Mars was first imagined as a novel. I'm thrilled that I'm going to get the opportunity to continue telling Veronica Mars stories in a form I've loved and missed," the writer-director, whose other credits include cult hit "Party Down" and work on "90210" and "Dawson's Creek," told the Hollywood Reporter.
Thomas' Kickstarter project for the fan-funded "Veronica Mars" movie drew attention of thousands earlier this year, managing to not only raise but exceed its goal of $2 million in seed money in just days, totaling about $5 million from fans eager for a movie follow-up to the 2004-07 series.
Thomas plans to work with Alloy Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Television Group, on the books, the same company that has helped developed some of the bestselling YA book series, from "Gossip Girl" to "The Vampire Diaries" and "Pretty Little Liars," all of which have gotten their own TV show adaptations. The "Veronica Mars" book series will be an inversion of Alloy Entertainment's creative process, as the company nutrtures book series that are meant to later be developed into TV shows and films.
"Veronica Mars has always been a one-of-a-kind character, and, as a longtime fan of the series, I've always thought there is an immense amount of story left to be told," Vintage editor Andrea Robinson told the Hollywood Reporter. "Our goal for the book series is to appeal to fans of the show, but also to appeal to mystery readers and lovers of series featuring strong, intriguing female protagonists. Veronica Mars is a contemporary update to the tradition of noir crime fiction that was established by Vintage's Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, so it's exciting that we'll also publish her here."
Robinson acquired the books for Vintage, and the deal was negotiated on the behalf of Thomas and Alloy Entertainment by Jodi Reamer.
