Update: Rob Thomas has taken to Twitter to reveal which fan favorite will be at the center of the highly anticipated spinoff: Ryan Hansen aka fan favorite Dick Casablancas!
"The CW web series: a comedy featuring @HiRyanHansen attempting to put together a Dick Casablancas spin-off of #VeronicaMars. No Date yet," Thomas wrote, before later clarifying it's "Ryan as version of Ryan trying to put together a Dick Casablancas series."
Thomas provided more details via an email statement. "It'll focus on Ryan Hansen playing a version of himself trying to put together a Dick Casablancas spin-off of Veronica Mars. It'll be a comedy. Ryan will call on pals of his from Veronica Mars, Party Down and beyond to help him get the show off the ground," he said.
How meta!
Veronica Mars is getting a spinoff!
The CW president, Mark Pedowitz, announced CW Seed, the net's digital programming site, will be home to a spinoff of the cult-hit TV show that's being revived as a film in March.
"Rob [Thomas] and I spoke last night, he's very excited he's doing it for CW seed," Pedowitz told members of the press at the 2014 TCA press tour. "It may not appear before the movie comes out. He's very busy, but we're very excited. I don't have a lot of details yet."
Pedowitz said it all came about "by circumstance."
"I first heard about it from Warner Bros. digital people," he said. "I picked up the phone and called Rob. He happened to be in Vegas...He told me about his schedule, and I said, we'll take it whenever you're ready. So we left it at that."
No concept is locked in, Pedowitz said. But the two discussed potential people that could be invovled and stressed nothing was set.
Veronica Mars ran for three seasons across UPN and The CW from 2004-2007. There was chatter of a movie continuation for some time after the show ended its run, but nothing came about until Thomas, the show's creator, announced a Kickstarter campaign to fund the movie. The campaign was a success—it raised more than $5 million—and the movie is scheduled to hit select AMC theaters nationwide on Friday, March 14
The digital series will likely be six-eight 10-minute episodes.
Thomas is also working on a book series continuation of the adventures of America's favorite sassy private eye. The books pick up after the events of the film. In the movie, Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) returns to her hometown to help clear her ex-boyfriend's (Jason Dohring) name of murder charges. It also happens to be her 10-year high school reunion.
See the trailer above.
(Originally published Jan. 15, 2012, at 2:04 p.m. PT)