Felicia Day doesn’t need Hollywood’s help making ‘The Guild’ Movie

YouTubers are taking over Hollywood. The critical and commercial success of Curry Barker’s Obsession, Kane Parsons’ A24-backed movie Backrooms, and Markiplier’s Iron Lung—especially in contrast to relative flops like Supergirl and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu—has challenged the industry’s conventional wisdom. It’s not a huge surprise, given that so many creators on the platform have cultivated deeply engaged fandoms.  One of the first creators to really take advantage of that dynamic on YouTube was Felicia Day, when she created her seminal web series The Guild in 2007.  For the 20th anniversary next year, Day is tapping into that fandom to fund a reunion movie of The Guild. She sat down with MIC cohost Josh Christensen to discuss her decision to crowdfund The Guild movie, the importance of maintaining creative independence, and the recent mainstream success of YouTubers.