RiffTrax and Shout! Studios’ “Mystery Science Theater 3000” revival Kickstarter campaign has closed with some big numbers.
The campaign raised a total of $2,695,849 from 22,189 backers, both of which are Kickstarter records for RiffTrax. While not as much as raised by previous fundraising campaigns to revive the show in recent years, the initial goal was to raise just $20,000 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of RiffTrax. Both RiffTrax and Shout! had previously said the new episodes would be produced regardless of the fundraising total.
As Variety exclusively reported in February, original series cast members and RiffTrax stars Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett will all return in their original roles for the four new episodes. Mary Jo Pehl, Trace Beaulieu, and Frank Conniff are also coming back, with Beaulieu and Conniff set to appear in the final episode. Beaulieu will also serve as the project’s art director, as he did for the first seven seasons of the original show.
In addition, Jonathan Coulton will be performing his rendition of the series’ opening theme, with comedy duo Paul and Storm joining him in producing the end theme.
“It’s incredibly gratifying that people seem to want to see the show. I’m very excited to get back into the
studio,” Nelson said. Murphy added, ““It’s really fun to see all the excitement this has generated, from the backers to the production crew to the whole Rifftrax Staff. It’s all going to be a truckload of fun.”
“Woohooo! Thanks so much, everyone. Can’t wait to puppet up again,” said Corbett.
The show is officially titled “Mystery Science Theater 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments.” Three of the four films to be riffed will be “Deathsport,” “Space Raiders,” and “Sting of Death.” The fourth film is being kept under wraps. The first episode will premiere as a Fathom Entertainment release in theaters, and all four will be available to watch on RiffTrax’s website later this year.
While the Kickstarter campaign has concluded, fans can still submit late pledges to own the episodes and Kickstarter-exclusive merchandise for a limited time. Production is currently slated to begin early this summer in Minneapolis, MN.
“Kudos to our friends at RiffTrax for an ultra-successful campaign. MSTies continue to be the best fans in the world,” said Matt Arsulich, associate vice president of product management at Shout! Studios, a
Radial Entertainment company.