The campaign to bring back Mystery Science Theater 3000 stands short of its $5.5 million range, meaning it’s up in the air if we’ll get a full 12-episode season of the show to enjoy in the near future. The cast that is coming along for this reboot is already impressive, with Patton Oswalt and Felicia Day filling the villain roles and Jonah Ray as the hapless / helpless host being forced to watch terrible old movies with his robot friends. But that’s not all of the starpower that creator Joel Hodgson is bringing in to get the show up to its next goal.
The AV Club reports that Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland are coming aboard to bring some of that Rick And Morty flavor to the series, something that certainly fits the theme and would help keep the references and fire breathing fresh from our spacefaring film critics. But that’s not all:
Besides Roiland and Harmon, who are no strangers to pop-culture-laden sci-fi nonsense, Hodgson has revealed that comedy writer and future Lego Movie director Rob Schrab, as well as Planet Of The Apes fanatic and former Simpsons scribe Dana Gould, will be penning riffs for new host Jonah Ray and his robotic companions to lob at the unfeeling theater screen. (Hodgson also hinted that Gould might appear on camera; the show’s list of celebrity cameos will apparently be released Thursday.) From the literary world, meanwhile, The Name Of The Wind’s Pat Rothfuss is on board, along with Ernest Cline, of the bestselling reference-encyclopedia-masquerading-as-a-novel, Ready Player One.
Those mentioned above are only being credited as guest writers for now, so they’re not fully taking over the writer’s room here. But their presence at any capacity is worth it. Also Robert Lopez, the songwriter behind Frozen’s “Let It Go,” is apparently writing some songs to go along with Charlie Erickson’s original music for the show. And there’s also plenty of other old favorites making a return.
So if you haven’t donated yet, go ahead and make your pledge. Or don’t and just wait patiently for the episodes to enter your viewing box for ingestion into your pleasure centers. It’s looking to be a fun ride, even if it has a lot to live up to.
(Via The AV Club / Kickstarter)
