The reports of Hoban “Wash” Washburne’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Maybe. At the very least, we know that actor Alan Tudyk, who played the pilot of the late, great FOX sci-fi series Firefly and the movie spinoff Serenity will be back for the mysterious new Firefly reunion project. And no, it’s not bobbleheads.
We’ll get to a little more explanation about what’s going on — and when and how you can find out what’s going on — in a second, but the news here is that Nathan Fillion, who starred on the series as captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds posted one, probably final video on his social accounts teasing the reunion. In it, he greets Tudyk at his door (or rather, the video is edited to look like that, it’s as convincing as that shot at the end of Netflix’s season of Arrested Development). He tells Tudyk that he won’t do “this” without him, and the pleased Tudyk slaps his podcast co-host. The caption notes that “It’s not bobbleheads…” in a reference to all the videos ending with the actors nodding silently at each other. And the tease that the announcement is coming Sunday.
So, what’s going on here? That’s the big question, of course, and it all started with a few weird videos Fillion posted, seemingly recruiting his co-stars for… Something. We initially speculated it was a reunion or rewatch podcast with his co-stars, since the social posts were collabos with Once We Were Spacemen, the podcast hosted by Fillion and Tudyk. But no, Fillion confirmed that this isn’t a podcast, convention, or cross-over episode of his show, The Rookie.
Fillion then further teased the announcement is coming on March 15, which led to me making several extremely funny jokes about them assassinating Julius Caesar. But it also led to a clear indication of when and where we’ll likely get that announcement: at Awesome Con in Washington D.C., where most of the cast is having a reunion panel.
To be clear, the panel is not the announcement, as Jewel Staite — who played mechanic Kaywinnet Lee “Kaylee” Frye on the series — clarified on Facebook. As for what it actually is? It’ll involve Fillion, Gina Torres (who played second-in-command Zoe Alleyne Washburne), Tudyk, Morena Baccarin (Companion Inara Serra), Adam Baldwin (merc with a heart Jayne Cobb), Sean Maher (doctor Simon Tam), and Summer Glau (psychic badass River Tam)… All of the main cast minus Ron Glass, who sadly passed away in 2016.
As is, while the Firefly fandom has turned from excitement to “if this isn’t five more seasons and a movie we will end you,” it’s more than likely not a full-on revival of the series. Yes, fellow Joss Whedon-created show Buffy the Vampire Slayer is getting a revival on Hulu, but the stars of Firefly (no shade to Ms. Sarah Michelle Gellar) are extremely busy and in demand. Getting a full-on season would be extremely difficult. Not to mention the question of how you handle the involvement of the disgraced creator of the show, Joss Whedon.
…Though of note there, in 2022, Fillion said he would work with Joss Whedon “in a second.” And in 2025, Tudyk went on Katee Sackhoff’s podcast and called Whedon a “smart, caring man” and expressed hope to work with him again. So hey, maybe the announcement is Whedon isn’t canceled anymore. Ha ha ha, that would be “so” “great.”
In any case, if you’re curious what this is all about — my bet is still on some sort of live stage reading to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show in 2027 — you can find out this Sunday, likely some time after 10:15am ET when the panel begins in D.C.
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