You have the power.

That’s the message producer Rob Thomas and actress Kristen Bell had for fans of the popular series “Veronica Mars” March 13, when they launched a campaign to turn their series into a movie. The team announced Warner Bros. would fund the marketing and distribution of a “Veronica Mars” movie if fans of the series donated at least $2 million within 30 days of the campaign’s start.

Fans raised the money in less than 12 hours.

The experiment is part of a trend known as crowdsourcing, through which activists and artists can reach out to the public for money to fund research or new projects. The campaign is driven through Kickstarter, a major crowdsourcing website. Thomas set giving levels for “Mars” and offered rewards for donating certain amounts, ranging from $10 (a copy of the script when the movie is released) to $10,000 (a brief speaking part in the movie).

The project has raised nearly $3.7 million as of Wednesday, so could this radicalize the movie industry? Possibly. Should it? Eh.

It’s great that the studios are reaching out to fans. “Veronica Mars” certainly wasn’t a blockbuster series when it was on, but its fanbase — known as “marshmallows” — is incredibly loyal. That’s quite apparent from how quickly the money was raised.

Fans have dreamed about this for years — I’m a huge “24” fan, and I would donate to see a movie finally happen. Some fans get lucky when their shows come back from the dead; “Arrested Development” will return this May exclusively on Netflix. But the opportunity never comes for so many series, so this new fundraising element could be just what studios need to rethink their options.

However, studios should be cautious not to use Kickstarter crowdsourcing campaigns as a crutch.

Fans already pay to see a movie when it hits theaters. Phenomenons such as the “Hunger Games” series have proven their worth at the box office, not at the front end of production. Studios obviously would be weary to plunk millions down on a series that was a moderate not-game-changing success when it was on, but therein lies the dilemma.

Should studios take the risk or play it safe?

Hitting fans up for money to offset the risk simply isn’t fair when those same fans will spend beaucoup bucks to see the movie in the theater. “Veronica Mars” will be a limited release, so fans will likely have to make a pilgrimage to see it on the big screen.

Hollywood is a sink-or-swim town, and I think executives have lost sight of that within the last decade. Look at the slate of films coming this summer: “Man of Steel.” “Iron Man 3.” “Grown Ups 2,” “Fast and Furious 6,” “The Hangover Part III.” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Kick-Ass 2,” “300: Rise of an Empire” and “RED 2.” The amount of numbers in those titles makes my head spin. There are original stories this summer, but they are few and far between.

Studios have focused on sequels for several years now. Fresh concepts hit theaters and every so often, we see the glimmer of what Hollywood could be. “Veronica Mars” would be a spin-off, yes, but giving the film a chance without forcing the fans to participate could be a sign of good faith on Warner Bros. part.

Two million is a drop in the bucket for them, and it would show audiences they are willing to test out different spin-offs besides another brooding superhero movie or “Hangover” rerelease with a changed location.

Bottom line: I hope this crowdsourcing will convince studios that lesser-known projects can be popular even before they consider asking the consumers — who will already support the film after it released — to support it before it even enters production. The gifts are nice, and some fan will be giddy when he or she opens the “Veronica Mars” shooting script. However, this should simply be a launching point for a new school of Hollywood thought, not a new tree for money to grow on.