It has been 21 years since a cult classic sci-fi series returned as a movie that answered the questions hanging in the air when the original show was cancelled. Often, when cult favorite shows are cancelled due to low ratings or budgetary reasons, letter-writing campaigns happen, and in modern times, there are also online petitions where fans fight for their favorite shows. This has been true for decades, and when one show was cancelled thanks in no small part to the network’s ineptitude in scheduling it, fans flooded the network, demanding its return. It didn’t help, and Firefly ended up as one of the biggest examples of a great show cancelled before its time. However, that wasn’t the end of the story.
Videos by ComicBook.com
On September 30, 2005, Joss Whedon directed the Firefly sequel, Serenity, and finished his story. What happened in this movie was that Whedon answered several questions left by the show’s early cancellation, but he also made some decisions that negatively affected fans.
Serenity Brought Firefly Back From the Dead
In 2005, Joss Whedon brought Firefly back to life in Serenity, and the crew all returned for the continuation of the story. The movie had an Alliance agent known as the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and his task was to capture River Tam (Summer Glau), a psychic who reads the minds of several top government officials and knows their secrets. However, the problem is that River and her brother Dr. Simon Tam (Sean Maher) are both aboard the Serenity, protected by Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his crew.
The movie answered a lot of questions that the show’s early cancellation left hanging. This includes the origin of the Reavers, the deadly cannibals who became one of the scariest villains on Firefly. It turned out that the Alliance accidentally created the Reavers when they experimented with behavioral control using chemicals. The people negatively affected had their minds hyperamplified into aggression and madness, where they inflicted body mutilation and became the Reavers. This is also why the Alliance wanted River so badly, since she read the minds of officials concerning a message behind the truth about the creation of the Reavers.
This also led to the story’s larger answers. This involved the deep government conspiracy that drove the overarching conflict in the star system. The answer here was that the planet Miranda, on which the Alliance’s utopian vision was built, was actually a horrific government screw-up and cover-up involving the creation of the Reavers and the terrible, immoral testing done on that world. Mal released the recorded message from Miranda across the universe, exposing the crimes to the entire star system. Sadly, this also came with great consequences, including the deaths of Wash (Alan Tudyk) and Shepherd Book (Ron Glass).
A New Firefly Reboot Is in the Works
While Serenity answered a lot of questions that Firefly left, there were other questions that Serenity left fans with, since the planned sequel never happened. With the tragic deaths of Wash and Shepherd Book, there is the big question of whether Mal continued on with the rest of the crew. What happened to River after the truth about Miranda was exposed? Since those were the secrets she was hiding, is she safe now, or is the Alliance still hunting her? Did people across the universe believe the recordings? Did this all start a new war?
The good news is that there is more coming. The cast of Firefly announced a possible reunion earlier this year, thanks to Nathan Fillion posting cryptic videos of himself going to former cast members and telling them it’s time. There was a reunion in March when they all got back together, and they announced a possible reboot, although they emphasized they need fans to let networks know the interest is there for more. The best part is that the Firefly reboot can bring back most of the cast because they want to do it as an animated series.
On top of Nathan Fillion, it looks like Gina Torres (Zoe), Morena Baccarin (Inara), Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Jewel Staite (Kaylee), Adam Baldwin (Jayne), and Alan Tudyk were all on board to return. Clearly, with Wash dying in Serenity, this is not going to take place after that movie. Instead, from all reports, this is likely to take place between the events of Firefly and the movie Serenity, opening up the idea for more adventures and stories in this beloved cult-favorite sci-fi world. While Joss Whedon won’t be involved, Firefly’s return should excite all the Browncoats who loved the series.
