Animated Firefly Reboot in Development With Nathan Fillion, 20th Television Animation
A new firefly animated series is in early development at 20th Television Animation, Nathan Fillion revealed, bringing original cast members together after a week of social-media teases.
Firefly Animated Reboot Announced
Nathan Fillion shared the announcement in an Instagram video and during a panel and live taping of his podcast with co-star Alan Tudyk at Awesome Con in Washington. The animated iteration is being developed through Fillion’s production banner Collision33 in partnership with 20th Television Animation, which controls the franchise rights.
Who Is Attached: Cast, Showrunners and Studio Partners
The project includes multiple members of the original cast. In the announcement video and at the event, Fillion and Tudyk were joined by Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher and Summer Glau; Adam Baldwin appears in the new footage as well. Ron Glass, who played Shepherd Book, is not part of the reunion due to his death in 2016.
Married writer-producers Tara Butters and Marc Guggenheim are set to serve as showrunners in their first professional collaboration. Early concept art has been developed in collaboration with Oscar- and Emmy-winning animation studio ShadowMachine. Fillion said he received the blessing of original creator Joss Whedon to pursue this new iteration, and in the video he signaled studio support with the line, “They said yes. “
What Exists Now and Next Steps
Production work is already underway on elements of the project: a script has been written and early concept art created. The creative team says the series would be set in the timeline between the original television run and the 2005 feature film continuation, Serenity. The project is expected to be taken out to buyers soon as the team seeks a home for the animated series.
The announcement capped a week of viral teases from Fillion and other cast members, who posted cryptic videos before revealing details. With showrunners, a script and an animation partner in place, the development now moves to the next stage of finding a broadcast or streaming partner and further production commitments.
