Kristen Bell Is Coming To ‘iZombie’ For A ‘Veronica Mars’ Reunion

Ever since iZombie premiered, fans of the show have often compared it to the series creator’s other hit, Veronica Mars. Either the same thought has crossed Rob Thomas’ mind, or he’s listening to what iZombie and Veronica Mars fans are saying, because Thomas is bringing in Kristen Bell for a kind of a reunion.

Kristen Bell Will Guest Star On iZombie And It Will Be Awesome

Yes, Kristen Bell is going to be on iZombie, sort of. The details of Bell’s guest role on the new series from Thomas has the Veronica Mars actress performing in a voice-over capacity. The heard but not seen role will be in the 11th episode of the current season, which will air on January 26.

The episode, titled “Fifty Shades of Grey Matter,” will revolve around the poisoning of a librarian who wrote erotic fiction, allowing for things to get interesting, when Liv (Rose McIver) is compelled to eat her brains. Little else is known about the episode, as it seems Kristen Bell’s specific role is intended to be a surprise for fans.

This isn’t the first connection to Veronica Mars to which fans have been treated on iZombie. In an earlier episode this season, Liv cites a line from the Veronica Mars theme song.

“A long time ago, we used to be friends.”

Another intentional jab at Thomas’ previous series was made, when Hearst College was made on iZombie. As fans know, Hearst was the school that Veronica (Kristen Bell) and her friends attended on that show.

Rob Thomas told E! News in an earlier interview that references to Veronica Mars are not always intended on iZombie. Sometimes it’s just mere coincidence.

“We had a ‘Help me, Zombie Wan Kenobi’ line that none of us remembered being in Veronica Mars, but there is a ‘Help me, Mars Wan Kenobi’ that somehow made it through,” reveals the iZombie showrunner. “So I saw all these tweets like, ‘Hey, what a great shout out!’ Honestly it was just us screwing up and forgetting we already used that joke.”

Kristen Bell Is No Stranger To Voice-Over Work

Even while working in the starring role on Veronica Mars, Ms. Bell found herself required to perform narration as a part of her duties as the show’s main character. It seems that type of voice work agreed with Kristen, because that wasn’t the last time she took on such roles. The actress also lended her voice on Gossip Girl and as Anna in Frozen.

Most recently, Bell has been seen in House of Lies, playing Jeannie Van Der Hooven. She is also slated to appear in the feature film reboot of CHiPs, which will also star Adam Brody, Jessica McNamee, and Dax Shepard.

Ms. Bell joins a long list of performers to come to iZombie from Veronica Mars. Ryan Hansen, Percy Daggs III, David Starzyk, Adam Rose, and Daran Norris have all appeared on both shows to the delight of many of Rob Thomas’ long time fans and followers.

While the expected gags and references may be lost on those unfortunate enough to have missed Veronica Mars, that upcoming episode of iZombie will surely be a big hit with fans of both shows. It seems like a good fit, as well, considering that both Veronica and Liv are snarky sleuths with some truly unique relationship and dating issues. Of course, the two shows are separated by the zombie apocalypse and Liv’s flair for cooking and eating brains, but, otherwise, they’re very much the same.

It will be interesting to see how Kristen Bell’s voice is incorporated into the episode.

iZombie returns on January 12 on the CW network.

[Featured image by Cindy Ord/Getty Images]