16 Fast Facts Fans Don’t Know About ‘Veronica Mars’

Veronica Mars was so popular as a teen noir drama series, that fans managed to bring it back as a film thanks to a very successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. Here are some things that even the biggest fans might not have known about the show.

1. Veronica was supposed to be a boy

The show’s creator Rob Thomas initially wrote the series in book form, and the lead was a male. However at some point they switched to female, and Kristen Bell was one of 100 girls to read for the part. Rob has mentioned that she was literally the first to read for them.

“Kristen was the very first actress I saw and my mind was blown. I kept thinking, ‘Was that first girl as brilliant as I thought she was?'”

2. Some of the runner ups got other roles however

The second choice to play Veronica behind Kristen Bell was Alona Tal, so they created the character Meg Manning just for her. Amanda Seyfried was another contender who ended up with the part of Lily Kane.

3. Percy Daggs III got tired of his character

Percy Daggs III played Wallace on the show, who mostly just favors for Veronica. He was very quickly irritated by the role and asked if his character could be changed to be more funny and lighthearted.

4. Joss Whedon has a cameo role

Writer producer Joss Whedon got a cameo on the show after saying that he was proud of how Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars were being compared. His role was Car Rental Guy.

5. Steven King was also offered a role

Steven King was offered a cameo on the show as a “crazy sociology professor” but he politely declined. He sent a note that read:

“I’m actually booked at that time, but I love your show. Keep me in mind for other things.”

6. The network thought Logan and Duncan looked too similar

The network felt that Logan and Duncan looked so much alike that the audience would be confused by it, so they were actually color coordinated throughout the entire show. Duncan was always dressed in the color blue, while Logan wore earth tones.

7. And they had initially read for the opposite parts

Not only did Logan and Duncan look alike, but their roles could have been reversed. Jason Dohring originally auditioned for the role of Duncan, and Teddy Dunn initially read for Logan. They were both cast, just swapped.

8. Paul Rudd almost had a big role on the show

Paul Rudd was initially considered for the role of P.I. Vinnie Van Lowe, but that ultimately went to Ken Marino. He did however have a different role on a single episode, when he played the washed-up rock star Desmond Fellows.

9. The fourth season would have looked a bit different

The fourth season of Veronica Mars that never got bought was going to skip ahead into the future. It would have shown Veronica a little older and working as a rookie FBI agent.

10. The Kickstarter movie campaign was record breaking

When they set up the Kickstarter account to raise the funds for a Veronica Mars movie, they set a goal to make $2 million within 30 days. But not only did they manage to do that…they made more than that within a couple hours. At the end of the 30 days 91,585 people had donated $5,702,153, which was one of Kickstarter’s most successful campaigns of all time.

11. Heather Graham almost starred on the show

Heather Graham was being considered to play the role of Kendall Casablancas, but at the time she was tied up with her role on Emily’s Reasons Why Not. The role went to Charisma Carpenter instead.

12. The original script called for a pretty different Veronica

The way that Veronica was first imagined was pretty different than how she actually turned out. The initial breakdown described her in this way: “She is not cute. She is sexy. Tough. Prematurely jaded. Angelina Jolie at 17.”

13. Dick wasn’t supposed to be a big character

Ryan Hansen was essentially picked to play Dick because his hair made him look like a good California surfer boy. He had a single word line in the second episode of the show, but everyone liked him so they ended up making him a series regular.

14. Logan and Veronica weren’t supposed to be together

At first there was no actual plan to make Logan and Veronica end up together.

“The truth is, we never had any intention at all for Logan to end up with Veronica. [Dohring] was hired to be the obligatory psychotic jackass. In the writers’ room, sitting around watching dailies, we would all gather around, and it was like, ‘We want to watch that. We want to watch those two onscreen together.'”

15. And some of that onscreen love was real

Jason Dohring admitted that while playing Logan he had some real life feelings for Kristen.

“A lot of that emotion was very real for me. I think I was in love with [Kristen] for the three years we made that show,” Dohring said. “Like, I truly felt like I would die without her, and I think that’s what underlined everything people loved about them as a couple.”

16. The show was originally supposed to be a lot darker

Originally the show was imagined as a lot darker, but the network was always backing out of those plans. For example, the original pilot had a more graphic rape scene and Lilly’s body being found by the river. They also considered having Veronica be 13 at the time of Lilly’s murder, as well as having Veronica and Duncan actually be related.