Kristen Bell on the future of ''Veronica Mars''

The upfronts are coming! The upfronts are coming! Yes, friends, it’s that time of year again, when the television networks descend on New York City to announce their fall lineups and court deep-pocketed advertisers. On the eve of this TV extravaganza (it begins May 15), we chatted with Veronica Mars‘ Kristen Bell about her show’s future at The CW, her summer plans, and hanging with Star Wars geeks.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Things are looking good for Veronica Mars, no?
KRISTEN BELL: Our sense has always been good. [CBS Corp. CEO] Les Moonves and [CW entertainment president] Dawn Ostroff and all the executives at UPN have never been shy about their support for the show. And they were very clear about saying ”Don’t worry.” You obviously never know, because nothing is written down. It’s the same way when someone says, ”You have the job.” Where’s the contract? [Laughs] I’m not worried, though. I think our show is going to be really good for The CW. We’re like the little train that could.

Assuming it returns, is the format of the show going to change from season-long arcs to multiple-episode arcs?
Rob [Thomas, VM‘s creator] is always challenging himself, and I know that he is looking at rearranging [the show’s structure]. I don’t think it would be stand-alone episodes, but they would be smaller arcs that would intertwine — ensemble arcs, if you will! [Laughs] He wants to keep it fresh with the audience.

When would you start shooting season 3?
The end of July, beginning of August.

You also have the thriller Pulse coming out July 14, and you’ve wrapped Fanboys?
Yeah! Oh my God, it’s so funny. It’s about these four guys who are in their mid-20s, it’s 1998, and they decide to drive across country to break into [George] Lucas’ ranch to steal [The Phantom Menace]…because one of their friends has cancer and probably won’t be able to see the movie. I play this nerdy girl who works at the comic book store with them, is in love with one of them — played by Jay Baruchel [Undeclared] — and meets up with them halfway through the trip. Dan Fogler, who won the Tony for [The 25th Annual Putnam County] Spelling Bee, it’s his first film, and Sam Huntington, who just played Jimmy Olsen in Superman Returns, is also in it. Seth Rogen [The 40 Year-Old Virgin] plays three different parts. There are a lot of good cameos, too: Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, William Shatner…

How about Lucas himself?
No, he may lend his voice, but we’re not sure. But he let us shoot at the ranch. It was so much fun to make. And I get to wear a black wig — I’m like a Goth kind of nerd. It was really cool to depart from the blond.

Any other projects in the pipeline?
I have this movie called Double Wide. [Shooting] just moved to September and hopefully I’ll still be able to do it. I auditioned a bunch, and I’m sort of waiting to hear back from a couple of things. But if not, I’ll have a relaxing summer in L.A.