There are cult TV shows and then there’s Firefly. Frankly, the legend surrounding this series has overshadowed the show itself. In 2002, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel under his belt, Joss Whedon created what was basically a space Western set centuries in the future, following a ragtag crew of crooks pulling jobs as they face a dangerous, all-powerful Alliance.
Infamously, Fox screwed up the show from the start, as they didn't air the two-hour pilot first, leaving audiences completely lost as to what was going on as episodes ran out of order. Sticking it on Friday nights didn’t help, and so, with just 11 of its completed 14 episodes aired, the series was canceled.
That wasn’t the end. Almost instantly, the show attracted a fanbase that went beyond a regular cult following. It was backed by critics praising the show’s potential and before long, Firefly was topping lists of series that were “canceled too soon." The fervent fan response led to Whedon reuniting the cast for a 2005 feature film, Serenity.
That was the last on-screen appearance for the property, although it’s enjoyed a long life in various books and comic series, often written by Whedon himself and considered canon. Now, after a quarter of a century, a special panel at the Washington D.C. Awesome Con had Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau reuniting to confirm a new Firefly animated series is coming. It’s expected that Adam Baldwin will also be joining (sadly, Ron Glass, who played Shepherd Book, passed away in 2016).
The show will have no connection to Whedon, who’s become persona non grata in Hollywood following allegations of misconduct over several years. Instead, it’ll be developed through Fillion’s production banner Collision33 in partnership with 20th Television Animation, which controls the underlying rights to the franchise. Marcus Guggenheim and Tara Butters will be attached as showrunners and writers. Fillion stated that Whedon has given the reboot his blessing.
It’s a long-awaited bit of news for Firefly fans, and considering where this new series falls in the overall timeline, there's good reason why animation was the only way to go.
Firefly's return has to be animated to make sense
Obviously, most fans would probably prefer for the series to have a full-scale live-action return with the cast back in their old roles. However, the story is set between the end of the original series and the Serenity movie (which killed off a few characters). So, unless most of the budget is going into de-aging CGI, there’s no way the cast could recreate their far younger roles.
There’s also how animation offers far more freedom than live-action in terms of special effects, battles, and such. Firefly never had alien life, but animation can give the space-set scenes an energy that 2002 TV could never capture. There’s also being able to delve into character beats and the lore and backstory of the universe.
The potential is fantastic. We can get flashbacks to the Browncoats/Alliance War, how each of the crew members began their road that led them to Serenity, and more. We can delve into River (Glau) being tortured for her mental powers and her brother Simon (Maher) searching for her. Or how Inara (Baccarin) was trained as a Companion. Hopefully we can see the return of recurring characters like con artist Saffron (Christina Hendricks).
The show can do anything from long-range story arcs to single-episode storylines of the crew’s misadventures, laying the seeds for the events of the Serenity movie. It’s also far easier for the actors (many of whom have other regular series now) to work in the voice booth for a day or two at a time, rather than committing to weeks on set filming.
Perhaps if the show is a big enough hit, we may end up with a live-action follow-up set after Serenity. Still, knowing Firefly is lifting off again in any form is more than enough for its passionate fanbase, which is sure to leave fans more excited about taking off into the Verse.