Nathan Fillion Explains Why He’s Not Continuing Firefly’s Story Beyond Serenity

Last week, Castle star and recently minted Green Lantern Nathan Fillion revealed that he is developing an animated revival for the cult sci-fi western Firefly. While fans have been demanding more of the Joss Whedon-created show for years, Fillion clarified that it won’t be a continuation of the existing story and doesn’t pick up where the crew left off in the 2005 feature film Serenity. In an interview with Deadline, Fillion explains why, and it all comes down to Alan Tudyk.

“It’s called the ‘Wash Is Still Alive Time,’” Tudyk joked to Deadline, in reference to his own character Hoban Washburne. “We refer to it as that.”

With the intent of having all of the characters present, the show will be set in a bubble where all of them remain alive. Fillion expressed disinterest in a revival without his full crew returning, including a recast Shepherd Book, originally played by Ron Glass, who passed away in 2016.

“You can’t bring back Firefly without bringing back all of Firefly,” says Fillion. “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.”

Fillion’s announcement has fans excited, but the show is not a done deal. While showrunners and writers have been assembled, and blessings have been given from 20th Century and Joss Whedon (who is not involved otherwise), this new series is only in its proposal stage, with no guarantees it will be picked up for a full production. The pitch comes in the shadow of Chloé Zhao’s cancelled Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival, a show that was leagues more popular than Firefly, with its script leaking and a co-star dying in the days that followed.

Whether the new Firefly’s sky can in fact be taken from it is yet to be seen. But this trend may be especially disheartening to fans of Dollhouse. All 30 of them.