After a week of social media teases, Superman star Nathan Fillion has officially revealed that an animated Firefly TV series is in advanced development.
The actor first broke the news at Awesome Con, where he was joined for a live taping of his "Once We Were Spacemen" podcast by Firefly co-stars Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau. According to Deadline (via SFFGazette.com), they're all expected to reprise their respective roles, as is Adam Baldwin.
Fillion is developing the project through his production banner, Collision33. The actor has partnered with 20th Television Animation, the Disney-owned company that holds the rights to Firefly.
Marc Guggenheim (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow) and Tara Butters (Agent Carter, Reaper), a married writing/producing team, are attached as showrunners and "a script has been completed," according to the trade.
However, Firefly creator Joss Whedon is not involved. Following the show's 14-episode run, he helmed a big-screen sequel, Serenity. After reported issues behind the scenes of Justice League's reshoots, Whedon has stepped out of the spotlight amid allegations of misconduct, abuse, and creating a "toxic" work environment on his sets.
This take on Firefly is set between the original series and Serenity, "expanding the universe while preserving continuity with the established lore." The show is expected to be shopped around to potential buyers shortly.
Fillion told the trade, "The dedication of Firefly fans has kept this 25-year-old show relevant. Clearly, the return of Firefly is something the fans want. More importantly, it’s something they deserve."
In Firefly, five hundred years in the future, there's a whole new frontier, and a crew of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity is eager to stake a claim on the action. They'll take any job, legal or illegal, to keep fuel in the tanks and food on the table.
But things get a bit more complicated after they take on a passenger wanted by the new totalitarian Alliance regime. Now they find themselves on the run, desperate to steer clear of Alliance ships and the flesh-eating Reavers who live on the fringes of space.
The series was cancelled after one season, but its loyal fanbase only grew as the years passed. That led to Serenity becoming a reality, though it only grossed $40.4 million on a reported $39 million budget.
Concept art from this Firefly revival has also been revealed. Developed by Oscar and Emmy-award-winning animation studio ShadowMachine, it offers a glimpse at what may be to come from the animated series. In the video below, Fillion also confirms that he has Whedon's "blessing" to move forward with this series.