The Office star Leslie David Baker has refunded money to people who backed his Kickstarter fundraising effort to launch a spinoff based on his character Stanley.
In a post shared on Instagram and emailed to Kickstarter backers, Baker addressed the status of his plans to film a supposed spinoff entitled Uncle Stan. "We apologize about the delay in updates, we have been working behind the scenes to get everything on track and rewards fulfilled. We are just as excited as all of you to get this project out and truly appreciate all of your patience and support," the statement reads. "The project took longer than anticipated due to circumstances beyond our control."
The project is currently stalled due to complications as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. "After careful consideration, we have decided to refund our backers," the statement continues, stressing that backer rewards will still be fulfilled. "In light of the current economic situation, we felt that this was the best course of action."
While the Kickstarter campaign ended with over $336,450 in support from fans, the team behind the project said that wasn't the figure they received. "A large portion of backers' pledges were lowered, or completely dropped and never collected once the campaign was completed," reads the statement. "The final amount that we received from Kickstarter was exactly $110,629.81. The funds were never used for any purposes other than reward fulfillment and backer refunds, and have otherwise remained accounted for and untouched in the account."
Baker announced the campaign in 2020 with a project goal of $300,000, which it ultimately exceeded. However, there's been very little in the way of updates since then and Baker has faced criticism from fans who accused him of "scamming" them. It appears as though he's still planning to go forward with Uncle Stan in some way, shape, or form, but as of right now there's no set schedule due to the uncertain nature of the strikes in Hollywood.
It's also unclear if he held the correct rights to produce a series based on his character from The Office, because NBCUniversal is not involved in the project.
