Firefly is a strange artefact in geekdom. It continues the fine tradition of TV sci-fi that was cancelled abruptly, but had a long-lasting impact on fandom, like the original Battlestar Galactica.
The impact of Firefly seems to be completely out of proportion to any success it actually had. It was cancelled after only 14 episodes, 11 of which were on FOX, and 3 more on Sci-Fi dropped to complete the story. Then there was a finale movie, Serenity, that grossed only $40 million worldwide and failed to make its budget back.
The show effectively launched the careers of some of its key actors, like Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite, Adam Baldwin, and Summer Glau, but they were all out of work and looking for other roles pretty quickly.
And yet, the show retains a huge and loyal fanbase who have driven it to cult-classic status.
Now there is talk of the sci-fi western making some sort of comeback.
Cryptic video posts have been added to Fillion and Tudyk’s Instagram account Once We Were Spacemen, in which the various actors appear over catchphrases and callbacks to the show. They all point to some kind of major announcement coming on March 15th.
Fillion has responded to speculation, seemingly ruling out a few options:
“Some of you have guessed convention, podcast, or crossover. You are wrong.”
So will it get a resurrection? Is streaming coming to the rescue? If so, how will they overcome that character exit in Serenity? The excitement is mounting among the loyal fans.
