![Firefly's Serenity Firefly's Serenity](https://i0.wp.com/www.geeksofdoom.com/GoD/img/2013/12/firefly-serenity-e1486738431239-530x326.jpg?resize=530%2C326&ssl=1)
Fans of Joss Whedon‘s space western Firefly have been waiting for news like this for well over a decade. Fox says that they’re actually open to reviving the long-dead show.
The news came out of the Television Critics Association 2017 press tour about a month ago, but flew under most radars at the time. Fox Broadcasting president of entertainment David Madden was on hand for a panel, and the status of many projects were discussed. When Firefly came up, Madden surprisingly said they were open to reviving the show, under one condition: Whedon has to be up for doing it.
That one condition is an obvious one, and fans wouldn’t want to see more if Whedon and the cast weren’t able to do it. The whole crew has been quite busy, so it’s not clear who’s open and up for finally revisiting that world. Madden thinks Whedon is too busy with other projects right now, so time will tell.
Even the cast has grown a little divided over the years. Back in September some of the cast members talked about a revival and why Netflix hasn’t come calling yet. While Jewel Staite and Sean Maher wanted more, Nathan Fillion wasn’t so sure it was for the best, saying:
“I totally get wanting more. I hear it all the time. ‘Is there going to be more? When is it? Could there be? What if there was?’ And I get it. At the same time, we all had what I would call my dream job. It was the perfect position. Everything was great. Even the challenges we faced, we faced them together. We were all in it together and we were all pulling for the same thing, to make a great show. And I loved every minute of it. It’s really hard to look at that kind of stuff and say ‘Give me more.’ Because enough is enough. Oh my god. It was everything. It was everything. How can everything not be enough?”
Part of me think this is just Fillion sick of hearing about it. If that one season of Firefly and Serenity are all we ever get, it is enough. But we also know there was so many more stories to tell with those characters. I highly doubt Whedon would do more unless it was on the same level as the original stuff. And I highly doubt Fillion would decline the opportunity to become Mal again if the call came.
But while this is exciting news, you won’t find many fans jumping for joy. Because they’ve been fighting for the show to come back for so long with little hope of it happening ever materializing. Until something is etched in stone, fans will quietly continue crossing all digits.
The good news is that revivals are hot right now. Especially at Fox, who have brought 24, The X-Files, and Prison Break back to life. Like them, Firefly doesn’t need to be a full series revival. In fact, it would probably work better as a limited series. Get everyone’s schedules lined up, and make eight to 10 new episodes. If it goes well, maybe they can do it again every couple of years.
For now, Fox appears to have opened the door. Now we wait to see if Whedon and the rest of the family has any interest in walking through it.
Read more about the status of other Fox projects over at Rotten Tomatoes.
[Source: via /Film]
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Comment by M.Mitchell Marmel — February 10, 2017 @ 1:52 pm
Always wanted an answer/backstory to Shepherd Book being treated like royalty on an Alliance Cruiser. Maybe Fillion would do some intros or commentary on pre and post “FireFly” life stories.
Comment by joel — February 11, 2017 @ 7:56 pm
I know crappy Warner Bros owns the rights….but if FOX could somehow buy those rights off of Warner Bros and get JMS involved…..more BABYLON 5 or a rebooted Crusade/Legend Of The Rangers show would be much better.
Firefly had 1 season which was mostly MEH, and a somewhat decent movie. Babylon 5 had 4 awesome seasons, 5 good made for TV movies, 1 bad made for TV movie, and a 1 season spin off show Crusade that not enough people watched….but still Babylon 5 left more of a mark and set up multiple episode, multiyear story arcs on television.
I just would love to see more Babylon 5. Hell, even an animated cartoon show would work.
Comment by Michael Rice — February 12, 2017 @ 12:56 pm