So it all depends on whether you’re into animated shows or not. After all the Firefly kerfuffle as discussed at borg here last week, it turns out the cast of the series and movie does have a new project idea they are shopping to studios, but it’s not live-action or a movie. It’s an animated series called Firefly: Still Flyin’, and according to Firefly series lead Nathan Fillion this weekend, they have a script, buy-in from creator Joss Whedon, the support of the remaining cast members, a pair of executives/showrunners onboard (Marc Guggenheim and Tara Butters), and at least a tentative animation house mocking up concept art (ShadowMachine). The only thing they need is a buyer. According to Fillion he’s off to shop the project around.
A video from Fillion and related details answer some of the questions posed in the past few weeks.
Fillion claims to have buy-in for the rights from 20th Television Animation/Disney, which would partner with his own production company Collision33. Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Adam Baldwin, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, and Morena Baccarin will lead the voice cast. Tudyk will be back because the story, beginning with a “season 2” episode called “Athenia,” will take place before his character was killed off in the movie Serenity–so during the same window as the extensive library of Firefly novels we’ve been reviewing here at borg over the past decade. That means the series will have the same problem as the tie-in novels–the stakes are always the same. That is, none of the key characters will ever really be in jeopardy (the late Ron Glass’s character Shepherd Book will either need to be recast or sent elsewhere for the animated series). But at least it’s something like the original animated Star Trek, which found ways to make the ongoing content interesting for its audience.
The concept artwork mock-up looks very detailed, but final animation rarely looks like the initial concept art. ShadowMachine is known best for its work on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio movie and Robot Chicken. Money will definitely be a factor in what a final animated series would look like.
Years ago at San Diego Comic-Con Fillion suggested he’d like to do a radio version. So he may be getting his wish, or something requiring a similar contribution from the cast. Somehow it feels like a Kickstarter, but without the fans sending in money. Will a few million likes and shares move the needle forward?
So what’s next? Sounds like a long waiting game is ahead. But like so many other projects, like the animated MouseGuard killed by a Sony/Disney deal, like the Buffy the Vampire Slayer live-action reboot that was axed last week, even if a Firefly project gets some traction, so many variables, studio sales, and other inputs will make it a constant uphill battle. So it’s not going to be real until it’s in front of you on your TV. As Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
