Nathan Fillion Explains Why He Had No Interest Setting the Firefly Animated Series After Serenity

Firefly actor Nathan Fillion has explained the decision to set the new animated series after the end of the live-action show but before the events of its follow-up movie, Serenity, and confirmed plans to bring back a fan-favorite character.

Fillion, who plays Captain Mal Reynolds in Firefly, and members of the original cast announced the animated series during a panel at Awesome Con in Washington D.C., where concept art of the lineup was shown. Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, and Adam Baldwin will reprise their roles. Ron Glass, who played the Shepherd Book, died in 2016 aged 71.

While a showrunning team has been assembled and a script has been completed, the Firefly animated series isn’t a done deal yet. It will be taken out to buyers in a bid to find a streaming home, with Firefly creator Joss Whedon not involved.

Speaking in a follow-up interview with Deadline, Fillion said that Serenity remains “our wonderful farewell,” and explained that he had no interest in exploring subsequent events. Going in between the TV show and the film means all the characters can return.

Warning! Spoilers for Firefly and Serenity follow:

Wash, the character played by Tudyk, and Book, played by Glass, were both killed off in Serenity, devastating a generation of fans. Now, both characters can return, although Fillion confirmed Book will be recast.

“It’s called the ‘Wash Is Still Alive Time’ We refer to it as that,” Alan Tudyk joked.

“Exactly,” Fillion added. “You can’t bring back Firefly without bringing back all of Firefly. We toyed with the idea of spending some time in the show after the events of Serenity, and I honestly have no interest. I think Serenity was our wonderful farewell to what was an incredible opportunity. Had we only had one more chance to do something, that was it, and it was beautiful. I can’t compete with that. But what I can do is go back in time, bring the gang back together, and give people what they want, which is more Firefly. After Serenity, it’s not the same. I didn’t want to do this without my buddy Alan. And you know that’s a reason why animation is key, because Ron Glass is no longer with us. I like to think, in my heart of hearts, that this is something that he would have wanted.”

Fillion continued: “Yeah, we’re bringing back Shepherd Book for certain. Ron Glass, unfortunately, is not available. Ron once joked that he didn’t get a part when they were looking for a Ron Glass-type, and here we are again. We’re looking for a Ron Glass-type, and it’s not going to be Ron Glass.”

The next question is whether the Firefly animates series will find a home. Fillion indicated there are positive calls happening, but no confirmation yet that a streamer has picked the show up.

Firefly premiered on Fox in September 2002 and ran for just 11 of its 14 episodes before being cancelled. The series follows the crew of the spaceship known as Serenity, helmed by Fillion’s Mal Reynolds, in the year 2517, and ended up becoming a cult classic once it made its way to DVD.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.