Nearly 12 years ago, Fox made us question whether or not the gorram suits in charge actually possessed any form of intelligence when they gave the ax to one of the best shows on TV. Firefly, the Joss Whedon helmed sci-fi western set in space that taught us all how to swear in Chinese, only got 14 episodes of air-time and yet, 12 years later, we’re still sorely missing the rag-tag group of smugglers. We’re missing them so much in fact that the entire fandom has banded together, creating petitions, Facebook groups and raising funding in order to see the crew of Serenity back on the small screen, and they’re not the only ones.
In an interview with Esquire, stars Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk revealed whether or not there was a chance for a cast reunion, imagined possible plot lines for the show’s inevitable reboot and explained why they have to watch what they say on Twitter, especially when it comes to the show’s rabid fan-base.
On More Cast Reunions
Comic-Con is the gift that keeps on giving, especially if you’re a Browncoat. The show’s cast has reunited over the years at the famous nerd-centric convention and they even staged their 10 year anniversary panel there two years ago. When it comes to getting the cast back together for another go at The Alliance, Captain Mal made it pretty clear what he’d like to happen, probably never will:
We always joke about it. But it was 12 years ago. I honestly don’t think that there’s going to be another Firefly iteration. I had an amazing time on Firefly. It was the best job I’d ever had. It was a lot of firsts for me, and it was the most incredible collection of people I’d ever had the pleasure to work with. And when it was torn away from me so abruptly, I was quite literally broken-hearted. But I had a chance to go back in the biggest way possible with [Serenity], a major motion picture. We all did. So we were able to have a nice kind of final goodbye. We had closure, which is more than a lot of people with cancelled shows can say.
On Possible Reboots
Reboots are all the rage right now and for TV networks, they’re a great way to squeeze even more money from loyal fans desperately wanting more from their favorite shows. I can personally affirm that there are few fans as desperate as Firefly’s and Tudyk agrees that a reboot will probably happen sometime soon. He’s even thought of the perfect plot line:
I’m for a Firefly reboot, personally. But it’s going to have to be in a while. It’s going to take a little time. I like the idea of it in another 10 years or so. We can pick up with Captain Mal, living on a moon somewhere… What was this? You showed me this idea, Nathan. Was it a fan fiction or something? Anyway, it picks up in another 10 years, so Mal’s going to be a little bit older. And someone comes knocking on his door and says, ‘You’re needed.’ Really, you just need the Captain. Then he can put the band back together. And you’re going to need some young people, because at that point you’re going to be old.
On The Power Of The Twitter Verse
Fillion and Tudyk have already been able to capitalize on the loyalty of the show’s fans by starting a Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for their new venture Con Man, a comedy show airing in 12 ten-minute episodes and centering on the lives of two actors starring on a sci-fi series that gets cancelled too soon. (Sound familiar?) In a testament to the Firefly fandom, the pair, who’s initial goal was to raise just $450,000 for the comedy series, was able to rack in over $2 million in donations in just 12 days.
But with that kind of power comes great responsibility. When Fillion made a joke about buying the rights to the TV show and turning it into a web series if he ever won the lottery, fans quickly started gathering the funds necessary to make that dream a reality. The actor learned a very valuable lesson when it comes to Tweeting:
I thought it would be funny. That people would go, ‘Aww, that warms my heart.’ And I accidentally rallied the troops. So I’m really careful about that now.
H/T Esquire
