Nathan Fillion Wants to See a ‘Firefly’ Reboot With a Younger Cast
Nathan Fillion may be known for his roles on The Rookie and Castle, but for fans of Firefly, he’ll always be Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds. The space-opera was canceled right after its first season, but it earned a huge cult following and fans are still hoping to see it return.
But they aren’t the only ones. In a recent interview, Fillion revealed he’s ready for a Firefly reboot and wants to see it with young new faces along with returning cast members.
‘Firefly’ premiered in 2002
Created by writer/director Joss Whedon, Firefly premiered on Fox in the fall of 2002. Set in the year 2517, the series follows the adventures of the crew of a spaceship named Serenity. The nine-person team travels to different worlds, and often find themselves battling criminals and corrupt officials.
The series stars Nathan Fillion as Captain Mal, Gina Torres as the ship’s second in command, Zoe Alleyne Washburne, and Alan Tudyk as the pilot, Hoban “Wash” Washburne. Morena Baccarin plays Inara Serra, Adam Baldwin portrays Jayne Cobb, and Jewel Staite is the ship’s mechanic, Kaywinnet Lee “Kaylee” Frye. The show also stars Sean Maher as surgeon Simon Tam, Summer Glau as his sister, River Tam, and Ron Glass as the shepherd, Derrial Book.
Nathan Fillion wants to see a reboot of ‘Firefly’
It’s been almost 18 years since Firefly premiered, but fans are still longing to see their favorite space heroes return to the small-screen. The show did get a spinoff film called Serenity in 2005, but the demand for a TV series remained. And in a recent interview with Ken Jeong and Joel McHale for their Darkest Timeline Podcast, Fillion revealed that he also wants to see a reboot.
“My dream right now is to have them pick up the universe with some young incredible actors who are going to do such an amazing job and just start doing this great story,” said Fillion. “And then, much like they did with the revamp of Battlestar Galactica, they start bringing in older cast members from the previous show to come in and start playing roles.”
If the show does ever get a reboot, Fillion says he’ll definitely be on-board to return. “I will be one of the old cast members to come in and play one of my roles in the new series and just dabble in there a little while during my retirement,” he added.
Fox might bring the show back
As recently as January 2020, TV executives have addressed the possibility of a Firefly reboot. At the January 7 Television Critics Association press tour, Fox’s President of Entertainment Michael Thorn told The Wrap that as a fan of the show himself, he’d love to see it back on TV.
“Any time we look at one of our classic titles if there’s a way to reinvent it for today so it’s as resonant now as the original was, and is, to the fans, we’re wide open,” Thorn said. “I loved Firefly, personally, and I watched every episode. I didn’t work on it, but I loved the show. It had come up before, but we had The Orville on the air and it didn’t make sense for us to have, as a broadcast network who is very targeted, to have two space franchises on our air.”
“In this crowded marketplace, if you can start with some kind of brand awareness and IP that has a vocal support and, in this case, a crazy, passionate love for it, you’re ahead of the game,” he continued. “I would love to see, like, an eight or 10-episode limited adventure in that universe.”
