Leighton Meester not reprising Veronica Mars role for movie

Actress Leighton Meester has been ruled out of reprising her Veronica Mars role for the upcoming movie due to scheduling difficulties.

Rob Thomas, who created the cult TV series upon which the film is based, has managed to gather many of the programme's original cast members, including Kristen Bell and Krysten Ritter, but was unable to secure the former Gossip Girl star due to her previous commitments.

Devotees hoped Meester would reprise her role as Carrie Bishop in the fan-funded movie, but Thomas has now replaced the actress with Twin Sister singer Andrea Estella in her debut acting role.

In a statement posted on the movie's official Kickstarter.com page, Thomas writes, "Sadly, Leighton was doing a different movie during the same time frame on the wrong coast. In the end, she was unavailable. One of the reasons I wanted Leighton, beyond her talent/beauty/history in the show, was that we needed a performer who could sing in this important role. Once it became evident that we couldn't make Leighton's schedule work, I decided to cast someone from a band I already wanted in the movie."

Estella adds, "This is the first movie I've ever appeared in. I had never seen Veronica Mars before all of this. I've been increasingly interested in finding new TV shows to plough through. I watched the Veronica Mars Pilot and was totally into it! It's the exact kind of show I would get obsessed with, so it's been a bit of dream to be in a movie, especially being a messed up rock princess. How could I say no? I think the (Veronica Mars) fans are going to be very happy!"

Thomas will also include two of Twin Sister's songs on the movie's soundtrack.