Eliza Dushku

With Joss Whedon fans ready to throw their arms up in anger over the expected cancellation of Fox’s “Dollhouse,” it was a more than a pleasant surprise when Fox announced last month that the show would be renewed for a second season.

Before the cult hit returns (filming begins next month!), fans can get their fill of the dolls at San Diego’s Comic-Con. The unaired 13th episode from season one, titled “Epitaph One,” will remain off FOX broadcasting channels, but fans will be lucky enough to see the episode — and Whedon and star Eliza Dushku — during a two-hour panel.

In a recent interview with MTV, Dushku said the episode, which is a flash-forward to an post-apocalyptic “different world of where the Dollhouse can and would evolve to,” will still have some continuity to seasons one and two.

“It’s still relevant and there are still pertinent points and pieces that people will be able to just sort of add to the backstory and a fast-forward story,” the actress says. “The Dollhouse is deep.”

Eliza said Whedon shot the episode in HD (no word yet on whether it will be presented in HD at Comic-Con) and it was intended to be a no-holds-barred mess of anarchy and destruction that would give the show a satisfactory finale if the show had been canceled.

“[It seemed feasible] looking at his past with Fox, what they were previously capable of doing,” notes Eliza, referencing Fox’s cancellation of Whedon’s previous series, “Firefly.”

Eliza wouldn’t give any huge plot points away about the second season of “Dollhouse,” but she did say that there would definitely be some storylines following gay and lesbian characters, and some storylines that would follow her own “adventures” she’s had traveling to Uganda assisting the rehabilitation of child soldiers.

“Last season we already had an idea for a Liberian child soldiers story and it just didn’t make it into the first 13. Now with the second season, we have a lot of stories that we’re looking forward to telling,” she says. “I sort of do my crazy adventures and come up and share them with him and they pop up in the scripts.… We aim to be socially and politically relevant.”

News has already broke that “Firefly” alum Alan Tudyk will reprise his role as Alpha next season, but Dushku did tease that “Castle” star and “Firefly” alum Nathan Fillion might be the next to join the team.

“We didn’t get Fills on [season one],” she said, “but you know, never say never.”

How many of you are looking forward to the second season of “Dollhouse”? What kinds of storylines would you like to see?