The story around Veronica Mars series creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell's Kickstarter campaign continues to evolve.  Yesterday morning we reported that the duo had launched the fundraising effort to raise $2 million in order for Warner Bros., the rights-holding studio, to give the okay on a feature version of the sleuth series.  They raised the funds in 10 hours and continue to bring in more pledges even now.  Though the campaign reached its goal, it wasn't clear whether or now Warner Bros. had greenlit the project or just how they would be involved if and when they did.  Hit the jump to see the latest on the Veronica Mars movie.

The Wrap is reporting

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that a studio insider claims that Warner Bros. has indeed given the green light to the Veronica Mars movie after fans successfully demonstrated their interest in getting the film off the ground.  According to the report:

"The film's production budget will come entirely from the money it raised on Kickstarter and won't include any additional funding from the studio, the individual told TheWrap. Warner Bros. Digital Distribution will shoulder the cost of distributing the film and marketing it to the "Veronica Mars" faithful."

Pledges are not exactly equivalent to cold hard cash, but since Kickstarter boasts a 98%  success rate in receiving funds, this shouldn't be an issue, especially considering how eager the fanbase is.  What's more concerning is just how the production team plans to produce a feature length Veronica Mars movie and make good on all of their promised swag (as broken down in a cost analysis here) in addition to abiding by union agreements, unless this really will be an indie production shepherded by Warner somehow.  And all with a planned theatrical and digitally distributed release in 2014?

While this is certainly a win for fans, it's almost guaranteed to be a bigger win for the studio.  Our own Matt Goldberg recently laid out why that might not be a good thing going forward.  We expect to see much more on this story in the days ahead as it plays out, especially once we hear official word from the studio.

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