That got us to thinking what other properties fans would literally fork over millions to not only see, but also be a part of.
10. Breaking Bad
Low ratings have insured that the next season of Breaking Bad will be its last. However, fans of the series are … lets just say … addicted. Walter White’s tribulations, while facing lung cancer and making high quality crystal meth, has created an obsession among fandom that can be almost scary to behold. People will shake you while stating “You have to watch Breaking Bad!” For the opportunity to see a film coda to their favorite series, those same fans would be absolutely willing to empty their bank accounts for just … one … more … hit.
9. Sons of Anarchy
The basic premise for the motorcycle gang drama Sons of Anarchy is similar to that of a Shakespearean tragedy. In case you have not guessed, that means that none of this is going to end up well, and almost everyone will die in the end. However, even killing everyone might not be enough for the rabid fans of Anarchy. There are a variety of ways to make the movie, with the most likely being an X-Files-esque bridge between seasons, or an ultimate ending. Either way, fans would giddily chip in. Just make sure that you don’t tip over a bike at the premiere.
8. The Sopranos
To be clear: not even James Gandolfini understood the ending of HBO’s mobster drama The Sopranos. This is kind of significant, considering Gandolfini portrayed lead character Tony Soprano. For over five years, fans having been begging for another episode or, at the very least, some sort of proper ending to the series. Having an art house ending is all fine and good, but eventually you start to wonder whether the door opened contained the lady or the tiger. There is a healthy debate over whether fans (and Tony Soprano) deserved better or worse, but they do feel like they deserve something more.
7. Calvin and Hobbes
When the last Calvin and Hobbes strip appeared in 1995, fans felt like they had truly lost a friend, and the strip still ignites misty-eyed nostalgia to this very day. Between snowmen and the overactive imagination of Calvin, the movie would be a modern mix of Peanuts and Walter Mitty. The effect would be a long version of Chuck Jones’ much underrated Ralph Daydreaming shorts.
Good luck on getting creator Bill Watterson to greenlight such a film though. Though, at one time, he wasn’t completely opposed to potential animation of his beloved creation, time and corporate buffoonery completely hardened his stance against turning his creation into anything but a comic strip. That won’t stop desperate Kickstarters with money to burn from trying, however.
6. The Office
We will put this as respectfully, and succinctly, as possible: Steve Carell, you have much better things to do with time than The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. And Ricky Gervais? You can only host so many awards shows before fans demand you rediscover your fake-bad-boss roots. Fans deserve a movie which brings both of the classic Office leads together.
Someone paid over $10,000 for a speaking role in Veronica Mars. If there was a speaking role available in The Office, you can bet on at least 25 grand right there.
5. Curb Your Enthusiasm
The end of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s run was left with fans wanting more. In this day and age of ridiculous projects being made, an Enthusiasm movie would play like a slightly off-kilter version of Cecil B. Demented. Besides, a Blu-Ray feature about the making of a movie about the making of a movie might eventually lead to a very real Oscar.
The thing about movies with a ton of cameos, sadly, is that they generally do not do all that well at the box office. The feeling is that a Curb Your Enthusiasm movie would be a bit of a different beast, and you know fans with pockets would do their damnedest to make that beast a reality.
4. Arrested Development
Ever since Arrested Development’s cancellation from the Fox Network in 2006, fans have clamored for a revival harder than they did for Family Guy. The cries have fallen on slightly deaf ears. However, Netflix has announced the creation of a new season this coming year, which the CEO has already promptly said will be cancelled … again. The clamoring and rumors of an Arrested Development movie have gone on since before the cancellation. Give fans an official pitch and a Kickstarter chance, and the net-savvy fandom would trash the total of Veronica Mars in no time flat.
3. Dr. Who
If it was a matter of official funding, all the BBC would have to do is ask on this one. The good Doctor has existed on television, in one form or another, for decades now, but WhovianMania has never been higher than it is today. If a Dr. Who movie had even half of the incentives that the Veronica Mars pitch had, fans would sell their house for one ride in the TARDIS. Of course, it would ideally be a collective, with some sort of cameo available for any and all living former Doctors. Forget a few million; this could be the first Kickstarter campaign to actually raise $100,000,000.
2. The Walking Dead
Left to their own devices, the creators of this show might be tempted to make a movie version of The Walking Dead more universally accessible. The reason to do it as a Kickstarter campaign then (even in the midst of its immense popularity,) would be to allow the movie to go in hardcore, yet still fan-friendly, directions which otherwise might not sell. This way, fans could get the movie they want, and the producers could get a break in financing. You could even have an enticement of being officially blown away as a zombie in the official movie; no way that wouldn’t sell. Besides, it would be great to have a zombie movie which could be legitimately shown on American Movie Classics.
1. Firefly
This one’s cheating, kind of, as Firefly already had a movie attached to it. The movie was called Serenity, and actually lost about $15 million at the box office. That fact matters naught to fans of the television series, however, which was cancelled after one season. They have been so rabid about their desire for a new film, that Joss Whedon had to go on record shortly after Veronica Mars’ success, saying that Firefly would not happen for years, if ever. Firefly fandom absolutely refuses to accept that reality, and would open their pocketbooks in a nanosecond to fund a new film, even if it was absolutely guaranteed to be a bomb. They just need to know and see more.