Firefly

Wednesday, March 3, 2004 - 12:32 PM

’Firefly’ Gets Its Feature Wings

By Brian Ford Sullivan CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com)

Universal Pictures has greenlighted "Serenity," a feature film based on the short-lived FOX series "Firefly." The studio snagged the feature rights to "Firefly" from 20th Century Fox Television back in September (read the story). Production on the project, budgeted in the mid-eight figures, is set to begin in June for a 2005 release date. Joss Whedon, the show’s creator and executive producer, is on board to write and direct the project, which will see all nine original cast members - Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite, Adam Baldwin, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass and Alan Tudyk - reprising their roles. Whedon told Daily Variety the title shift is designed to give the franchise some distance from the TV version. "It was important that people understand that the movie isn’t the series," he said. "The movie is bigger, more epic than anything you can do in a series." He also added he went out of his way to make sure the script was accessible to audiences who never tuned into "Firefly." "You’re not going to bring people into a movie if you’re explaining all the time what happened before," Whedon added. Details about "Serenity" weren’t released however Whedon specified the feature is set about six months after the TV show left off. Barry Mendel ("Unbreakable," "The Sixth Sense"), Alissa Tager and Mutant Enemy’s Chris Buchanan are executive producing the project in addition to Whedon.