Firefly

A Blue-Ray release of Serenity is now a possibility.

At least one of the two major studios currently exclusive to HD DVD is already gearing up to join the other team after Toshiba’s announcement it would stop making HD DVD players.

“While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray,” said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Kornblau’s statement came moments after Toshiba announced it was pulling the plug on HD DVD, a move that effectively ends a two-year format war with Sony’s Blu-ray Disc to become the successor to DVD.

“The path for widespread adoption of the next-generation platform has finally become clear,” Kornblau said. ”Universal will continue its aggressive efforts to broaden awareness for high-def’s unparalleled offerings in interactivity and connectivity, at an increasingly affordable price. The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate.”

A similar announcement is expected from Paramount Home Entertainment/DreamWorks, which last fall abandoned its dual-format strategy and began releasing titles exclusively on HD DVD.