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Felicia Day launched Kickstarter for The Guild 20th anniversary movie
Actor and web-series pioneer Felicia Day has launched a Kickstarter campaign to reunite the original cast of The Guild, her influential 2007 MMORPG-themed web series, for a 20th anniversary movie planned for 2027. She decided to self-fund the project after Hollywood producers approached her wanting a rebooted version with a younger cast, a proposal that left her angry at the idea of surrendering creative control over "the thing that made my career."
The Kickstarter went live on 20 July, with Day saying she deliberately avoided pitching the film to Hollywood studios or executives who might not understand the show or its fanbase. The Guild, originally shot on a shoestring budget in her own home, helped establish YouTube as a viable platform for scripted content and led Day to found Geek & Sundry, the channel that launched Critical Role. Unlike the original series, the reunion film will move away from MMO gaming and be set at a renaissance faire, reflecting Day's own shift away from online gaming towards single-player and cosy co-op titles, as well as her experience as a mother balancing a Hollywood career in her 40s.
In short
- Felicia Day launches Kickstarter for a 2027 Guild reunion movie
- She rejected a studio pitch to reboot the show with younger actors
- New film swaps MMO gaming for a renaissance faire setting
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The creator's intimate understanding of what made the original series resonate with audiences is irreplaceable, and circumventing studio executives who failed to grasp the show's essence serves both artistic integrity and fan loyalty. Crowdfunding represents a direct relationship between creator and audience, allowing Day to make decisions guided by genuine fan enthusiasm rather than studio profit projections, whilst the show's original grassroots success suggests that authenticity and creative control matter more than production budget.
The case against
Established studios bring proven capabilities in production, distribution, and marketing that can elevate both the film's quality and its reach far beyond the existing fanbase, potentially introducing The Guild to new and younger audiences. A studio partnership mitigates financial risk and grants access to professional infrastructure, established release channels, and talent resources that could genuinely honour the original series through superior filmmaking rather than constraining it to crowdfunding limitations.
Explained simply
The Guild is a web series that began in 2007, following a fictional group of friends united by their shared interest in online gaming. Made on a small budget filmed in Felicia Day's own home, it became widely influential and helped establish YouTube as a platform for independently produced scripted entertainment.
Felicia Day, the actor and creator of The Guild, went on to found Geek & Sundry, a digital media company behind shows including Critical Role, which has attracted millions of viewers. Twenty years after the original series, Day has launched a Kickstarter campaign to produce a 20th anniversary film reuniting the original cast.
Day chose to crowdfund the project through Kickstarter rather than accept a film studio deal after producers approached her wanting to reboot the show with a younger cast. By self-funding through her audience, she maintains creative control of the project. The upcoming film, planned for 2027, will move away from the original's online gaming setting and instead be set at a renaissance faire.
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