‘Firefly’ Animated Series In Development By 20th Television Animation
After over twenty years since the infamous sci-fi series, “Firefly”, was released, after many rumours of revivals, it’s been confirmed that “Firefly” will be returning to our screens for some new adventures.
The show tells the story of the crew of a starship, who travel through outer space after Earth’s resources have diminished and forced them to look elsewhere in 2517. Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds steers his bandit crew through anything to keep them alive and flying.
During a panel at Awesome Con in Washington, D.C, Nathan Fillion, who plays Captain Mal, confirmed that an animated series is currently in advanced development by 20th Television. The actor, along with many other stars of the original series, also posted a video on social media to confirm the news.
The animated version of “Firefly” is going to be set between the original series and the film, expanding the lore and characters. A piece of concept art was also revealed on social media.
It’s been confirmed that Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau, are all going to be returning to reprise their roles, as they were included in the social media video. Adam Baldwin will also be returning to the project.
The upcoming animated series will be produced by Collision33, which is owned by Nathan Fillion, who will team with 20th Television Animation, which has the rights to the franchise. Animation studio ShadowMachine is also working on the project.
Nathan has confirmed that Marc Guggenheim (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow) and Tara Butters (Agent Carter, Reaper) will be producing the show and will be the showrunners. Nathan also revealed that the script is complete and the project has been given the blessing of Joss Whedon, who created “Firefly”, but won’t be involved in the animated show.
While no home for the project has been announced, since 20th Television is involved, I would expect the new animated series to go to Hulu and Disney+, rather than licensing it to other platforms like Amazon or Netflix.
The original “Firefly” series is available to stream now on Hulu and Disney+. The spinoff film, “Serenity”, is also available on Disney+ in some countries.
Roger’s Take: It’s been over twenty years since “Firefly” last hit our screens, and there is still a lot of love for this franchise. The idea of moving the franchise forward with animation makes a lot of sense from a business and creative side, since they will be able to push the boundaries much further in animation, than in live-action, plus all the actors are now twenty-plus years older, so they would have to make big changes to the storyline.
Are you looking forward to the return of “Firefly”? Let me know on social media!
