Firefly

Not much info was given at Saturday’s panel, but at least the cast of Whedon’s sci-fi flick were having fun.

July 18, 2005 - If the Serenity panel at the San Diego Comic-Con proved one thing, it’s that no news is still pretty good news. Joss Whedon stopped by the show with the entire cast (sans Alan Tudyk) to drum up more hype and support for his futuristic sci-fi western flick. They weren’t there to reveal more sneak previews or announce another delay; they were just there to share their passion for the finished project.

The participants were careful not to reveal anything about the film itself. In fact the only solid new information revealed was that Joss Whedon’s favorite Harry Potter character is Hermione Granger. Beyond that, most questions were met with jovial banter from the panel. When asked how many visual effects shots were in the movie, Joss replied, "Twelve." Morena Baccarin (Inara) followed Joss’ comment saying she thought there were only eight shots. Joss replied that her discrepancy was due to the fact that he had replaced her with a CGI beetle.

At the very least, the panel reaffirmed the cast’s love for the property and the movie. Nathan Fillion (Mal) led the audience of 6,000 to give Joss several rounds of applause for creating Firefly and following the cancelled television show with a movie. Whedon also showed a clip that expanded on a scene from the trailer involving River’s bar fight.

Serenity opens nationwide on September 30.