Nathan Fillion has revealed at Awesome Con that an animated Firefly series is in advanced development, based on the beloved cult sci-fi franchise. The announcement was made during a panel at the Washington, D.C. event and live taping of his podcast “Once We Were Spacemen,” alongside co-stars Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau, all of whom are expected to reprise their roles. Adam Baldwin, who played Jayne Cobb, will also lend his voice to the project.
The animated reboot is being developed through Fillion’s production banner Collision33 in partnership with 20th Television Animation, which controls the underlying rights to the franchise. Married writing-producing team Marc Guggenheim (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow) and Tara Butters (Agent Carter, Reaper) are attached as showrunners, and a script has been completed. Joss Whedon, creator of the original series, is not involved but has given the project his blessing.
The proposed series is set in the timeline between the original 2002 television run and its 2005 feature film continuation, Serenity, expanding the universe while preserving continuity. Early concept art has been developed with Oscar and Emmy-winning animation studio ShadowMachine. The fully assembled package is expected to be taken out to buyers shortly.
“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,” Fillion told Deadline. The announcement culminates a week-long viral social media campaign teasing the news, bringing Firefly back to the forefront of trending topics.
Originally produced by 20th Century Fox Television and created by Whedon, Firefly aired for a single season before developing a long afterlife through DVD sales, streaming, and the film Serenity. It followed a renegade crew aboard the transport ship Serenity in the year 2517. The late Ron Glass also starred as Shepherd Derrial Book.
