In the same week that Joss Whedon’s ‘Buffy’ revival had a stake driven through its heart, a new revival was born for another Whedon cult classic, “Firefly”. Longtime fans seem divided about the news, as expectations may have been higher than the reality delivered by “Firefly” star Nathan Fillion on Sunday at Awesome Con. The series will be returning with many of the original cast members, but this chapter in the story will be animated. Another major detail revealed about the project was its timeline. The proposed animates series would take place between the original 2002 “Firefly” series and the 2005 sequel film “Serenity”. This makes the animation aspect more practical as the characters have aged significantly, but seems less impactful on the overall universe as it won’t intersect or affect either of the original properties.
The announcement (which was first reported by Deadline) may have been a bit premature after the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was so recently canceled, given this new animated series is currently only in development. On the brighter side, the show does have a scrip complete and although Whedon isn’t working on the project, Nathan Fillion says that the OG Creator has given his blessing. Fillion may have felt the hype for animated revivals due to the upcoming “Stranger Things: Tales from ’85”, but this new “Firefly” does not feel like a phoenix rising from the ashes just yet.
The proposed animates series would take place between the original 2002 “Firefly” series and the 2005 sequel film “Serenity”.
The announcement did not come out of the blue, as Fillion had teased a major piece of news coming soon on social media and finally delivered this weekend. The news of ‘Buffy’ getting the axe likely put a damper on the festivities, but on the bright side an animated series is obviously easier to make happen than a live-action revival of a series that has a much bigger bag of source material to retouch on. Fillion spoke about the news during the convention while simultaneously doing a live episode on his podcast “Once We Were Spacemen” that he created in November with his “Firefly” and “Serenity” co-star Alan Tudyk. The panel/podcast also featured Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau who are expected to reprise their roles in the animated series along with co-star Adam Baldwin.
Fillion, who is Executive Producer on “The Rookie” is developing the series with his production company Collision33 in association with 20th Television Animation, who own the rights to t he “Firefly” franchise. The series has attached an experienced husband and wife sci-fi veteran writing/producing team – Tara Butters, who worked on “Agent Carter” and “Reaper”, alongside Marc Guggenheim who worked on the long running DC Arrowverse Series “Arrow”, “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow”. The couple notably met while worming together on “Firefly”.
The team shared early concept art (pictured below) depicting the characters in their prime, two decades ago. Many fans commented that the artwork brought back memories and also made them miss the actor Ron Glass, who played the character Shepherd Book in the series and film (who passed in 2016). It is unclear if any other writers aside form the show runners have worked on the script for the pilot or any other episodes although it’s let the husband and wife team willl bring in some help if the project is more than 6 episodes.
Fillion and Tudyk’s podcast are likely one of the driving forces behind the announcement, as the podcast has risen close to the top 100 podcasts, an unusually high level of popularity for a podcast that’s only a few months old. The podcast was inspired by the two longtime collaborators and friends love for the original “Firefly”. Each episode features the two having reunions with various cast and crew members, which has proven there is still interest in the IP of “Firefly”. Many fans took to Reddit and social media to complain that the series would not be live-action while others weren’t ready to celebrate so soon after losing their chances of a ‘Buffy’ return.
Fillion released a video, which makes a plea to the fans to show interest and share/react to the post so that the Producers can find a home for the project. It is unusual for a peroject to have Showrunnners, a script and almost all of the cast before the series has a home, but “Firefly” has never been the typical success story and the series only grew to it’s cult classic status after the show was sadly cancelled after 11 of it’s 14 episodes aired. Not yet having a home for the project doesn’t instill the greatest sense of confidence after “Buffy’ just lost its afterlife, but Fillion does seem to have momentum.
Fillion, who is involved in multiple large franchises will have a busy year. The Actor/Producer currently has season 8 of “The Rookie” airing, while the upcoming second spin-off in the universe, “The Rookie: North” is now in production. Although ‘The Rookie” is a popular show, many of Fillion’s original sci-fi fans have expressed disdain for his involvement in a police show that many have dubbed ‘copaganda’. Fillon’s sci-fi fans will obviously be glad to seem reprising his “Superman” role in the DCU’s soon to be released “Lanterns” which has an August premiere window with no exact date set. Fillion’s company will also be releasing an unrelated comic book called “Witness Point” with Dark Horse Comics but it’s likely too soon to speculate on any other greenlit projects with the busy star. The comic book is about a town of Witness Protection participants that suddenly realize nobody can trust their neighbor and is a very interesting concept that could defiantly work with Fillion’s style of physical action and humor in the future.
For now, fans will have to patiently wait, likely until San Diego Comic-Con this summer to get any additional news about this next animated chapter in the “Firefly” franchise. As of now, no further story details have been released, but fans are happy to se the bulk of the cast returning, with the exception of Adam Baldwin. Baldwin was targeted by many users on social media as the only problem member of the crew, but he seems to still be on good terms with his former castmates.
What do you think? What will be the plot of the “Firefly” revival? How can the series have stakes if it takes place before the movie? What new character will be introduced only to die? Please let s know your thoughts in the comments below!
