Having worked with Joss Whedon on three of his beloved TV shows, it was only ever a matter of time before Firefly’s writer-producer Tim Minear weighed in on the question of a reunion/reboot, and he’s now thrown a very interesting possibility into the ring.
Interviewed by EW on the topic of TV shows that deserve a second life, Minear says that, whilst there are currently no plans underway at the moment, he thinks that the short-lived Firefly would do very well as a limited series if ever it were to be rebooted. And to tease fans even more, he says that nothing is impossible when it comes to bringing the cast of Firefly back together.
I would never foreclose the possibility. The fact that it was even a feature film after it spectacularly failed on Fox was a miracle. And of course it lives on in other forms. In terms of getting the band back together to make a new adventure, who knows? I would love it. It would be great. But first everybody has their respective projects that limits them from crossing over into other things. It’s just trying to coordinate everybody’s obligations so they could somehow participate.
Those many obstacles are of course difficult to navigate, with one of the biggest being the fact that many of its actors have commitments that would make scheduling a nightmare, including but not limited to Nathan Fillion’s exclusivity to ABC on their very popular series, Castle, which itself includes a healthy dose of references to Fillion’s fan-favourite role in Firefly.
Musing the possible options for the future of the original 2002 series, Minear posits the idea of giving it a limited run, just like shows like American Horror Story, also written and produced by Minear, and the upcoming 24: Live Another Day.
I’m completely talking off the top of my head, but there’s a show that’s been on for the last couple years that’s reinvented the form in terms of the limited series. I’m trying to think of the name of that show — Oh yes! American Horror Story! It doesn’t have to be 13 episodes. Look how Sherlock does it… I think a limited series of some kind would work best. Something like that could also work if, say, 20th could partner with Netflix, or another distributor. It would have its home on Fox, of course [then a second window on streaming]. A limited series would do very well, I bet.
Whilst it’s important to remember that it’s largely all just talk, and that Whedon himself said last year that his focus at the moment is on building new worlds rather than going back to old ones, a little optimism never hurt anyone, especially when it comes to a band of characters as strong and much-loved as these.
Whedon and co. overcame the odds to make Serenity happen, and that was nothing short of amazing. And if he and his frequent collaborators could make a new series, even in limited form, every bit as good as the original, who could possibly turn down that prospect?
