Once We Set Out To Do The Impossible… Again? | LIVE Announcement | Episode 19

Summary

Episode Summary: “Once We Set Out To Do The Impossible… Again?”

Once We Were Spacemen Podcast
Episode 19 | March 18, 2026
Hosts: Nathan Fillion & Alan Tudyk
Special Event: Firefly Cast Panel (Washington, D.C.)

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Overview and Main Theme

In this landmark episode, Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk join their fellow Firefly cast members at a fan convention for an exciting and emotional reunion. But beyond the nostalgia and celebration, the episode becomes genuinely historic: the original crew announces their effort to produce a brand-new Firefly animated series set in the universe between the original series and the film Serenity. The conversation blends reflections on Firefly’s enduring fandom, the evolution of their relationships with their characters and fans, and an impassioned call-to-action for Browncoats to “make the impossible, possible” all over again.

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Key Discussion Points & Highlights

1. Building Anticipation and Big Announcements

• Social Media Teasing & Fan Speculation

  • Nathan opens by joking about the buzz created by their recent social media activity, listing friends and even Justin Trudeau as calling to ask what's happening.
    • “I got a phone call. Any Canadians in the audience? I got a phone call from Justin Trudeau.” – Nathan Fillion (00:15, 19:05)
  • The cast playfully orchestrates their planned announcement, passing prepared remarks between members in a spoof format (“Hi, I’m Nathan Fillion…”).

• Debunking Rumors and Turning the Tables

  • The cast humorously rules out all rumored announcements (another panel, podcast, bobblehead series, even an audio drama).
    • “If you guessed a new Firefly audio series, you'd also be wrong.” – Sean Maher as "Nathan Fillion" (05:36)

• The Real Announcement: A New Animated Series

  • Nathan reveals the plan:
    • A new Firefly animated series exploring stories set between the original series and Serenity, reuniting the core cast.
    • They have Joss Whedon’s blessing, rights secured from 20th Century Fox/Disney, top-tier showrunners (Tara Butters & Marc Guggenheim), an animation house (Shadow Machine), and a pilot ready.
    • The series needs fan engagement online to demonstrate demand and convince networks/streamers to pick it up.
    • Call-to-action: Like, comment, repost, and share the announcement from their podcast’s Instagram account.
    • “This will give us quantifiable analytics that I could take and show to the powers that be that this is something that you want to happen. Let's just take the gamble out of it.” – Nathan Fillion (11:16)

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2. The Impact and Endurance of Firefly

[15:19, 23:53]

• How Fandom Keeps the Show Alive

  • The cast marvels at the ongoing, cross-generational passion for Firefly, sharing stories of fans, cosplay, and new viewers discovering the show.
    • “I think we're all just continuously surprised that all of y' all just keep showing up to these things... it just keeps moving and I'm just happy to be on the train.” – Sean Maher (15:52)
    • “So much energy out into the universe and we don't know how it's gonna land... The fact that this Firefly family has made its way around the world so many times and back to us... is great.” – Gina Torres (17:10)

• Memorable Fan Interactions

  • Jewel recounts an awkward fan encounter in a store, and Alan shares how Firefly remains an ever-present part of fan conversations despite his other roles.
    • “Firefly always has maintained it. There's like Star Wars has not pushed out Firefly... it's wild.” – Alan Tudyk (21:02)

• The “Impossible” of Firefly’s Survival

  • The cast jokes about the show’s cancellation and how they never expected it would last 25 years in the hearts of fans:
    • “When they told you your show was canceled, would you have believed them if they said, oh, don't worry for 25 years, you guys are gonna be set?” – Nathan Fillion (37:43)

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3. Revisiting Characters and Dreams for the Animated Series

[24:30–29:58]

• Personal Reflections on Characters

  • Each actor reflects on the legacy, complexity, and open-ended futures of their characters.
    • “I just wanted Kaylee and Simon to have babies. That's it. That's my number one.” – Sean Maher (24:38)
    • “We would never, never leave our kid with Red River.” – Jewel Staite (25:14)
    • “I don't think about her [Zoey] at all. No. Well, here's the thing. It's been a long time and I've done other things... I can now.” – Gina Torres (25:57)
    • “I just remember... there were so many untold stories [about Inara’s past].” – Morena Baccarin (27:48)
    • Nathan reflects on leadership, learning from castmates, and even jokes about relishing fans’ emotional reactions to Wash’s death:
      • “That's not empathy at all.” – Sean Maher, after Nathan describes enjoying fan reactions (32:40)

• Dream Plots and Story Ideas

  • Alan Tudyk discusses pitching storylines for Wash, including a backstory about time in prison with shadow puppets and tattoos.
    • “There's so many ideas. When I rewatched this series... I would have to pause it and... stomp around my living room and go, why was this canceled?” – Alan Tudyk (30:03)

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4. Behind-the-Scenes: The Road to the Animated Series

[13:56, 14:19, 32:58]

• Development Timeline

  • The project has been in the works for around five years, largely since the pandemic.
    • “Only about five years.” – Nathan Fillion (14:19)

• Script Status & Writing Process

  • Pilot completed. Additional episodes are being penned (including story pitches from Alan).
    • “We have the pilot. I'm writing two episodes on myself. I'm not a great writer, so I need help.” – Nathan Fillion (32:58)

• Call for Fan Engagement

  • Fans should stream Firefly, engage with social posts, and generally make as much noise as possible to show support.
    • “Those are the things that streamers pay attention to. So you're doing everything right. Spread the word. Wear the hats.” – Nathan Fillion (34:13)

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5. Future Hopes and Concluding Moments

[34:45–End]

• Commitment to Canon and Casting

  • Series will be set between the original series and Serenity; no major canon changes, no recasting or turning beloved characters into robots/AI.
    • “I'm not interested about what happens after Serenity. I'm only interested what happens before Serenity. With all my friends...” – Nathan Fillion (34:53)

• Bringing in New Talent

  • Nathan hints at inviting friends and creative collaborators—both cast and writers—who are themselves Firefly fans.

• Joy and Gratitude for Fan Community

  • The cast reminisces about the journey from “failed TV show” to enduring fandom and expresses humility and thanks for the support that made this moment possible.
    • “We were hoping some of you would come out to see us. This is out of control.” – Sean Maher (37:31)
    • “We got the news. We hung out of my house. We're all gonna... We really sucked the life out of us... And it didn't.” – Nathan Fillion (37:56)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Fan Impact:

  • “The fact that this Firefly family has made its way around the world so many times and back to us... is great.” – Gina Torres (17:10)

• On the Announcement:

  • “We would need Joss's blessing. I got it. We would need permission from 20th Century Fox, Disney. We got it. We would need showrunners. I got them... The last piece we would need is a home. And for this piece, we need you.” – Nathan Fillion (10:40)

• On Character Legacy:

  • “I learned a lot as an actor portraying Malcolm Reynolds. ...I learned about Malcolm Reynolds through other people's eyes. And that's an education as well.” – Nathan Fillion (28:55)

• On the Power of Fandom:

  • “This will give us quantifiable analytics that I could take and show to the powers that be that this is something that you want to happen. Let's just take the gamble out of it.” – Nathan Fillion (11:16)

• On the Lasting Magic:

  • “Why was this canceled? Are you kidding me? I felt it very strongly.” – Alan Tudyk (30:03)

• Classic Alan Tudyk Humor:

  • “You could almost cook a baby in that much amount of time in your stomach. Not like in a microwave, like gestation. Stop talking.” – Alan Tudyk (22:33)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00–02:30: Panel opening, cast introductions, and initial banter
• 02:30–11:15: The “Nathan Fillion” announcement relay and new series reveal
• 11:15–13:55: Project specifics (rights acquired, showrunners, call to fans)
• 15:19–23:53: Reflection on fandom, fan stories, and series legacy
• 24:30–29:58: Character relationships, future hopes, and ideas for the new series
• 32:58–35:50: Animated series canon, script process, fan engagement instructions
• 36:37–38:40: Farewell thoughts, gratitude, and reliving past cancellation

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Tone & Atmosphere

Playful, heartfelt, self-deprecating, and full of authentic shared affection—both between cast members and with their audience. The mood is a mix of mischievous humor (the “I am Nathan Fillion” running joke), nostalgia, deep gratitude, and a nervous but sincere hope for the next phase of the Firefly ‘verse. Their love for each other, the characters, and the fans shines through at every turn.

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Final Thoughts

For those who missed the episode or the con: The original Firefly crew isn’t just reminiscing—they’re inviting the fandom to help make new stories a reality. The animated series is closer than ever, hinging on fan engagement. Whether you’ve loved Firefly for twenty-five years or found it yesterday, now is truly the time to “keep flying.”

Can't stop the signal.

Transcript

[Nathan Fillion]

Since we started doing this little social media blitz thing that we've been doing. Raise your hand if you've got phone calls from friends saying, hey, what's happening? Right? What's going on? And they want to know. I got a phone call. Any Canadians in the audience? I got a phone call from Justin Trudeau.

[Alan Tudyk]

Once we were spacemen. Spacemen. I tend to play weird people, usually aliens and robots and things that don't have romance.

[Nathan Fillion]

I once didn't get a job where they were looking for a Nathan Fillion type. Once we were spacemen.

[Alan Tudyk]

Once we were spacemen.

[Moderator]

Good morning, Firefly fans. How are we doing? Are we feeling the energy? Oh, my gosh. There are so many people out there. Are you ready for a very cool panel with the cast of Firefly? Excellent. Well, let's keep that energy going. Are you ready to welcome to the stage Nathan Fillion. Alan Tudyk. Alan tudyk. Where is he? Alan Tudyk. Sean Mayer. Summer Glow. Mirena Bakhren. Got it. Come on, come on. Yeah, I caught you. Hey, Alan, look at all those fireflies out there. Next up, we have Sean Mayer. Gina Torres. There are so many excited Firefly fans out here this morning.

[Alan Tudyk]

Jewels, take.

[Moderator]

Look at all those fireflies out there.

[Alan Tudyk]

Wow.

[Nathan Fillion]

Really quickly, before we start, I know this is a Firefly panel, but would it be okay if I made a quick announcement? Whoa. That's the time. I have prepared some remarks, but I didn't want to monopolize this time, so I thought we would do this the way we like to do everything, which is as a crew. So, Sean, would you please stand up and would you please read this?

[Jewel Staite]

I don't have my glasses.

[Gina Torres]

Hi,

[Jewel Staite]

my name is Nathan Fillion. So I don't have my glasses here.

[Moderator]

No life.

[Jewel Staite]

Who's next? You may know me from such shows as Castle. I'm pausing for applause. The Rookie. I'm pausing longer for applause. But if you're in this room right now, you probably know me from Firefly. I didn't even have to pause for the longest pause there. Safe to say I've had a wonderful and fortunate career that Sean greatly admires.

[Nathan Fillion]

Thank you. Perfect. You can sit down, Gina. Oh, good.

[Gina Torres]

Hi, I'm Nathan Fillion. As some of you may be aware, we have been teasing an announcement on social media recently. In a stroke of brilliance, Gina said, Nathan, you handsome devil. We should announce it at the Firefly panel. Hi,

[Sean Maher]

I'm Nathan Fillion. There's been a lot of people out there guessing what we could possibly be announcing today. If you guessed a panel, a podcast, a bobblehead, or some kind of crossover with my show, the Rookie and Morena Show, The Sheriff Country Rookie, you'd be wrong. But if you were one of the clever ones that guessed a new Firefly audio series, you'd also be wrong.

[Moderator]

Okay. Hi, I'm nathan fillion. In the last 25 years, I can't tell you how many times someone's asked us, is there going to be more Firefly? And we have lost count of how many unfounded rumors about the return of Firefly. But like Summer always says, if bringing back Firefly was easy, everybody would do it.

[Morena Baccarin]

That's how old we are now. Hi, I'm Nathan Fillion. Now, as much as I would like to bring back Firefly, It would be impossible. Hold on. Some of us are currently occupied with other projects, and some of us live out of town. And like Morena said, Jewel is just too old.

[Nathan Fillion]

I didn't write it,

[Alan Tudyk]

Boo.

[Morena Baccarin]

But it wouldn't be the first time that, thanks to you, the fans, that Firefly had done something impossible.

[Alan Tudyk]

Hi, I am Spartacus. I'm sorry. I'm Nathan Fillion. I read that wrong. Being honest, we wouldn't want to do another Firefly. As I said, I am Nathan Fillion. Unless we could go back in time to fill in all the stories we missed between the TV show and the movie. That way, we could bring back beloved characters. Like Wash and like Shepherd Book, but especially Wash. Have I mentioned Wash? Too soon. Too soon. And because of our schedules and availability, the only way to get it done is if we animated it. Souvenirs.

[Nathan Fillion]

Hi, I'm Nathan Fillion. If Adam were here, I'm sure he would say, nathan, if we were to do this, we would. There'd be a lot of moving parts. We would need Joss's blessing. I got it. We would need permission from 20th Century Fox, Disney. We got it. We would need showrunners. I got them. The incomparable Tara Butters from Dollhouse and Agent Carter. And the darn close to extremely handsome Mark Guggenheim from the Arrow and Flash. We would need a pilot. She's right. We got it. We would need an animation house like the Emmy and Academy Award winning Shadow Machine. The last piece we would need is a home. And for this piece, we need you. At this very moment. There is a post going out from the Once We Were Spacemen Instagram account. You need to like the post. You need to comment on the post. You need to repost the post. Share it with your friends. Share it with your Family. Share it with your enemies. If you had something pleasant to say about Firefly, now's the time. This will give us quantifiable analytics that I could take and show to the powers that be that this is something that you want to happen. Let's just take the gamble out of it. For anybody who has any questions about whether or not you want more Firefly. Now, I am not as smart as Joss Whedon. I am barely a Tim Mynier if he got kicked in the head by a pony. But I know we can bring you some real Firefly comfort food. Thank you very much for your attention. I now return you to your regularly scheduled Firefly panel.

[Moderator]

I think you're getting a standing ovation, it looks like, from most of the audience out there. This is fantastic. I truly don't even know how to follow up an announcement like that. My first question, like off the top of my head as a lifelong Firefly fan, though, is how long has this been in the works? Like, how long have you been working on assembling a truly fantastic team to make this happen?

[Jewel Staite]

I'm Nathan Fillion.

[Nathan Fillion]

Only about five years.

[Moderator]

Wow. So was this, like, born from the pandemic era then, like, getting together, talking about things, dreaming this up?

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah, yeah. Presenting it. There's a lot of. It's not easy. It is not easy. I'm gonna tell you that if it were easy, everybody would do it. But here we are, we're at the final stage.

[Sean Maher]

It's.

[Nathan Fillion]

It's that close. It is that close. It was actually my hope, but. Oh, here we go. Please enjoy.

[Moderator]

Oh, wow.

[Nathan Fillion]

This is some of the Firefly key art that I think I've already shared with you guys on the text thread. There are some people out there in the world who actually know about this already who have kept it very hush hush, which I really appreciate. Thank you very much.

[Sean Maher]

No, I want to see it too.

[Alan Tudyk]

Is there a wash?

[Nathan Fillion]

Not yet, not yet, but we're working on that.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh, okay.

[Nathan Fillion]

Your look is very particular, Alan.

[Alan Tudyk]

Right, right, right.

[Moderator]

Well, I mean, for all of you, you know, looking back at Firefly and getting to be amongst your fans so often at these conventions and getting to hear these stories, and now looking forward to more Firefly for each of you. How has your relationship to Firefly kind of evolved over the years, especially as you hear these stories from fans and how this series that had 14 episodes and a movie has had, like a 25 year impact on their lives?

[Nathan Fillion]

That's a good question for Jewel.

[Jewel Staite]

I knew you were going to say that meaty question.

[Sean Maher]

That's a me. That's a meaty question. I think. I think we're all just continuously surprised that all of y' all just keep showing up to these things. No, really, it's. It's always a huge, Very pleasant, of course, surprise when we're back there and we hear you out here waiting for us. It's, It's. It's quite an amazing thing. And I feel like this has been passed on now to new generations and their little kids. Maybe too little watching the show. No, but it's a beautiful thing that just keeps moving and I'm just happy to be on the train.

[Nathan Fillion]

There's only a handful of people, I think, that have this experience, certainly all the Star Trek people and wonderful shows like that, the Stargate, which Jule, you also participated in. But we've had all of the positive things that come along with that experience without the decades of work that went into theirs. It's incredible.

[Moderator]

Anybody else have kind of reflective memories? I'm looking at you, Gianna. You made eye contact.

[Gina Torres]

Jill said it beautifully.

[Sean Maher]

I nailed it beautifully.

[Gina Torres]

You really did. I mean, it is shocking. And I'm always in awe of when you guys show up and stay online for as long as you do to just have a few minutes with us and share your experience and what Firefly means to you. That's always incredibly humbling for me. And I can't. I lost count about how, like, how many Zoeys, little Zoeys and Kaylee's, you know, have come and that I've hugged and that I've gotten to meet and see over the years. I mean, that's extraordinary. I read a letter this morning about an impact that our show has had or that my character in particular has had on people, mostly all of you who are out there right now who are in the armed forces, that also is incredibly humbling to me. And again, I thank you for your service if you are out here in this audience right now. So, I mean, what we do in general as actors is we send so much energy out into the universe and we don't know how it's gonna land or how and if it's gonna come back to you. And the fact that this Firefly family has made its way around the world so many times and back to us through every possible emotional journey. Life journey is great. I mean, we've all gotten invitations to weddings, so. Hi.

[Moderator]

That is fantastic. I love when series have impacts on fans in the way that Firefly has. And obviously when you're at a Convention like this, you're being recognized for Firefly. But what is kind of like a fun anecdote of a time you've been out in public that a Firefly fan has been like, oh, my gosh, it's you.

[Nathan Fillion]

I'm gonna squeeze this story into this question, which really doesn't fit.

[Moderator]

That is okay.

[Nathan Fillion]

But since we started doing this little social media blitz thing that we've been doing, raise your hand if you've got phone calls from friends saying, hey, what's happening? Right? What's going on? And they wanna know. I got a phone call. Any Canadians in the audience? I got a phone call from Justin Trudeau. Name drop.

[Morena Baccarin]

That's a flex right there.

[Nathan Fillion]

It's actually like a text in the video saying, you better not be messing with me, Fillion. I know people. It was wonderful, but people that I didn't know cared. When I find out that they care, ah, it's wonderful. It really is.

[Morena Baccarin]

It's always the quiet people I find, too. Like, you know, people will say they like my work and other things, and then at the end of the day, if we've worked together all day long, they're like, I'm actually a really big Firefly fan. I don't know why it's such a dirty secret.

[Nathan Fillion]

It's like a back pocket thing.

[Morena Baccarin]

Yeah. But maybe because it's been 25 years.

[Moderator]

Alan and Sean have been very quiet. Do you have any fun anecdotes at all for those kind of stories in Summer as well?

[Nathan Fillion]

I have a ton.

[Moderator]

I think there's a ton of Firefly fans that want to hear about it.

[Jewel Staite]

Well, one's kind of long, so I'll just sort of cut to kind of the end. And I won't tell you where this happened or which state it happened or which store it happened, but it was the manager of the store when we had an interaction, and then I sort of bumped into him again as I was trying to leave, and he had asked me how happy my husband and I really were.

[Moderator]

What?

[Jewel Staite]

You know, because should it not work

[Nathan Fillion]

out,

[Moderator]

Shoot your shot, I guess.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah.

[Nathan Fillion]

That's amazing.

[Jewel Staite]

My husband and I are very happy.

[Alan Tudyk]

By the way, Alan, I have the same story. It's wild. You know, I'm. I've. I've gone. I've gone on, like many of us, to do other projects. It has been 25 years, and I'm meeting fans from new projects. And as we're signing and meeting fans, you're seeing pictures of yourself and different other stories that you've been able to tell other characters that we've been able to bring to life. But there is always. And this is like with. There's always. Fireflies always has maintained it. There's like Star wars has not pushed out Firefly. It has maintained a side by side. Like, it's. It's right there. It's wild. And I think it's because. I think it's not just because it was such a great show, because I do believe that I rewatched it recently, last year, and it was cut off to too soon. Too soon. And it was a great movie. Serenity was a great movie that you all helped get made. So this is. Precedent has been set. But it was better as a TV show. It was a better series, in my opinion, because you got to tune in and see a new planet, a new job, new characters coming, and then we'd wrap it up by the end. And then the next week, it'd be time again. And then the next week it'd be baseball for some reason. Then the next week, it just wouldn't be on at all. But that was Fox. And I also feel like one of the reasons that it has had such staying power is because con fans have so much imagination or artists, so many of you are artists yourselves, that when you're watching stories like this, you start telling stories you're ready for. Oh, wouldn't it be great if they went to this planet? Wouldn't it be great if this happened? Wouldn't it be great if they did something like this? And the magic of the show, of all of us together, really, the way that we all played off each other and we were all in the right role for our characters that you just couldn't wait to see more and hope that your story would come along. And so with an animated show, we would get to do that. There was, I think, two months or something between Firefly ending and the movie starting. Some distance of time there that Joss had worked out, and that is a forever two months for us. It could just go on forever. Eight months. Eight months. Even better. You could almost cook a baby in that much amount of time in your stomach. Not like in a microwave, like gestation. Stop talking.

[Moderator]

What a profound insight there. I don't know how to follow that up. I'm gonna be really honest with you. Do not cook babies in ovens. Thinking about the fact that when you have a fan base like this for 25 years that continue to kind of invest in your characters, I'm really curious to know for each of you, like, how your Connection to your character has evolved. What kind of things that you've been reflecting on your characters that you're looking back at, and now you're very excited to kind of maybe get to revisit in the animated form and some of those qualities in them. And I'm gonna start here with Jewel and work our way down the line.

[Jewel Staite]

It's another meaty one.

[Sean Maher]

Oh, I get all the meaty ones.

[Jewel Staite]

Yeah.

[Moderator]

It's the curse of sitting next to the moderator, I fear.

[Sean Maher]

I don't know. I mean, it's. It's pretty simple for me. I just wanted Kaylee and Simon to have babies. That's it. That's. That's my number one.

[Morena Baccarin]

That's pretty tight in eight months, but we'll work on it.

[Sean Maher]

Yeah. Maybe they're twins, they're premature. I don't know. We'll write that. I like that storyline.

[Moderator]

You heard it here first. Summer River's. River's a built in babysitter. So I got you and your twins.

[Jewel Staite]

So let's just be clear. We would never, never leave our kid with Red River.

[Sean Maher]

Never.

[Moderator]

Come on.

[Jewel Staite]

No fucking way.

[Gina Torres]

Wow.

[Moderator]

That's your final answer?

[Gina Torres]

Wow.

[Nathan Fillion]

Dad, Auntie river throat punched me and kicked me in the face again. All I said was Miranda.

[Moderator]

Okay, well, that gives me something to work on. Animated series Gina for you.

[Gina Torres]

I don't think about her at all. No. Well, here's the thing. It's been a long time and I've done other things. I'm being honest. I'm being honest. I've done a few other things. And it's also dangerous for an actor to stay in one place because you just don't know if that's gonna happen. Like, I can't. Like, I wonder what Zoey would be doing right now. I can't live my life like that. I can now.

[Alan Tudyk]

Right.

[Gina Torres]

I can now. So I think I'll get on that.

[Moderator]

And for you, let's see.

[Jewel Staite]

Babies for sure. But honestly, I think when I was working on this show, when I come here and y' all reflect back to me, like, what you've taken from, whether it's relationships with river or Kayleigh. And it's like, I don't consciously think about that or do that. And so it's really quite wonderful to, you know, see what has resonated. But, yeah, I don't really think about it too much. That's for Nathan.

[Gina Torres]

And also, like, after Serenity, what really was I going to be thinking about?

[Alan Tudyk]

Baby, where the hell is my husband?

[Gina Torres]

That's right.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, baby. Where the hell is my husband? Yeah,

[Moderator]

Miranda, for you.

[Morena Baccarin]

I just remember thinking back at the time that we were shooting that there were so many untold stories. And so I don't remember them all, but I do remember asking a lot of questions of, like, okay, where is this character really from? What's the backstory? There was some stuff hinted at about Inara's backstory and why she was running away, which is definitely something I would love to see, explore. But I'm open to stories. And I echo what Gina is saying, that it's a dangerous place for an actor to sit and dream. But we also have to. I've been doing other things as well, and this is a reminder of the family that we have and coming here. It's such a great excuse to see these people and reconnect. Cause we all are very busy, and we don't have a lot of time together. And that's the part I cherish. And honestly, I don't care what story we tell. It'll be great no matter what. Cause it's us and you guys.

[Moderator]

Alan, Nathan, I feel like you two have maybe been dreaming a little bit.

[Nathan Fillion]

I learned a lot as an actor portraying Malcolm Reynolds. I learned a lot by working with incredible actors who made my job so very, very easy. I didn't know how to thank you. I didn't know how to be a captain of a ship. But when everybody treated me like I was the captain of a ship, it just seemed to make sense. So everybody did the hard work for me. I learned a great deal that way. And then I talked to the fans, and I learned about Malcolm Reynolds through other people's eyes. And that's an education as well. So twofold. Malcolm Reynolds has brought a lot of education to me. Real talk in real time. I just got a text from David Krumholtz. Name drop. Some of you may know him as Mr. Universe. He said, I wish my character weren't dead. Thrilled for all of you. I said, we're going back in time. You're still alive.

[Moderator]

Alan, did you have anything to add or.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh, yeah, of course.

[Moderator]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

I have so many things that I want to do. I kept writing. I was doing that thing like you guys, where I was constantly pitching ideas for stories. While we were doing it, I got a little. There's little things in there that. Like the shadow puppets. Because I was pitching that that's what Wash was doing during the war, that he had one flight, got shot down, and spent the rest of the time in prison telling prison stories with shadow puppets. And I wanted tattoos. There were so many things. But we were hinting at a baby as well, which I think would have been a fun back and forth between us. Because if she's going out in dangerous places with big old belly. With a big old belly, that is not a good place for a child to be. And I think it would be fun. There's so many ideas. Every. Every. When I rewatched this series, there was. In every episode, in every episode, there was a point where I would have to pause it and it would be like, stop it. And drop the remote and stomp around my living room and go, why was this canceled? Are you kidding me? I felt it very strongly.

[Nathan Fillion]

So, yeah, I'm writing two episodes based on story pitches. You've had.

[Alan Tudyk]

Dust those bad boys off. Yeah, 25 years ago. Okay, good.

[Nathan Fillion]

And I'm also going to give them to you to do, like, an Allen

[Alan Tudyk]

Pass do a little bit.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah, yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Good, good, good, good, good, good. I know one of them that I know yet.

[Nathan Fillion]

I'll tell you this, too. One of my hobbies right Now, I love YouTube. I watch YouTube all the time, is watching. There'll be people who are out there who have never seen Firefly or Serenity, who watch it. And you watch them watch it. They're the people who talk at the theater, but they do it in a better medium because they're talking out loud. And one of my favorite bits is, I'll just kind of start fast forwarding. There's that little thing. This is the most watched part of the video. It's when Wash dies. Watching people break down and cry and die inside, when your character dies, it's like one of my favorite things to do. Not because I like to see them suffer. It's because I like to see that they're connected. They've connected clearly. And I love watching people. That's not empathy at all. Thank you, Sean. I'm gonna pretend you weren't being sarcastic.

[Moderator]

Well, since you mentioned writing, how involved are you in the stories? And I mean, are scripts ready? Are you still working on things? What's that status?

[Nathan Fillion]

We have the pilot. I'm writing two episodes on myself. I'm not a great writer, so I need help. I like to say, and I've said this before on our podcast, if you haven't listened, we have a podcast called Once We Were Spaceman Marina. You'll be a guest very soon.

[Morena Baccarin]

Been waiting for my invitation?

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah, yeah. The whole thing was we were going to have a second season. We were going to do, like, a Short season and then have a second season next year. And we're saving Morena for the second season. But now we haven't stopped. Can't stop the signal sooner rather than later. But I've said this before. I consider what writers do. What writers do is like a Thanksgiving meal. And what I do is more like, pepper, I couldn't make you a Thanksgiving meal. And I got great handle on the pepper.

[Moderator]

Alan knows at the top of this panel, you mentioned that liking this post on Instagram would help kind of signal how interested fans are in this. Are there also other things that fans can do, like streaming Fireflies so that it's constantly back number one on streaming sites? And I mean, what do you need

[Nathan Fillion]

fans to do that is actually happening as we speak? Netflix. This was recorded live.

[Moderator]

Nathan meant to say Amazon Prime Video

[Nathan Fillion]

said, I think Firefly is number 11 right now on their top 10 charts. There's been a resurgence. Those are the things that streamers pay attention to. So you're doing everything right. You're doing everything right. Spread the word. Wear the hats.

[Moderator]

I still have so many questions about this animated series. I've been sitting here, what, for like the last 30 minutes, like, just wrapping my mind around it. So exactly how is it, I guess, is it between Firefly and Serenity and it's telling more stories and.

[Alan Tudyk]

Or is it like its own reality, like a comic book where it you draw? You know, like, what if The Amazing Spider Man. The Incredible Spider Man.

[Nathan Fillion]

I am totally cool with the reality we created. I think that that's what fans want. I'm not looking to change anything up and make anything new. I don't want Wash to be a robot or AI I. I don't want Shepherd Book to have passed. I want what I loved. There was an idea thrown around about, oh, we'll, we'll. We'll tell some stories about before Serenity. We'll tell some stories about after Serenity. I said I'm not interested about what happens after Serenity. I'm only interested what happens before Serenity. With all my friends, There's, there's, there's, there's clearly a journey that's been made. I want to see the steps of that journey. They've clearly learned a lot about River. In the time since the series and the movie, they. They've gleaned a lot. I want to know how they gleaned it and when they figured out that's what was going on, what did they do about it? I had some ideas about that.

[Moderator]

And obviously we're getting this core group of the original Firefly cast. But are you interested in having new characters and doing new things?

[Nathan Fillion]

And I have been inviting a lot of my friends, a lot of people that I know who I've met throughout the years who have. I'm a big fan of Firefly, by the way. They do that thing with me. I say, do you want to come play? Do you want to come do something? Can I count on you to have. Can you? I know incredible, incredible writers who have said, hey, man, if you're bringing that back, I'll do anything. If there's anything I can do, let me know, please. And I said, count on it. I will call you. It's been a wonderful 25 years of incredible nurturing and wonderful relationships with incredible people that I cannot wait to include on this journey.

[Moderator]

Fantastic. I think everyone is so excited. I'm sure your phone is going to start ringing as we speak with people being like, I'm a huge fan of Firefly. Always been. I want to be on it. That's what people are going to be doing here in the next couple of minutes. I'm sure you're. You're friends. But to wrap things up, since we have about three minutes left. I know, I know. You're all heading back to your tables. You have photo ops today. Correct. So fans can come gush about how excited they are about the Animated series. But I'm curious to, like, how has this con been treating you? How has it been getting to be amongst all of these browncoats at the tables and hearing from everybody? What has been some of your favorite moments this weekend so far? This moment here on this panel, getting to announce the Animated Series.

[Sean Maher]

This is crazy, right?

[Moderator]

I mean, we thought we were on a failed TV show.

[Sean Maher]

Yes. I think we were hoping some of you would come out to see us. This is out of control. In a good way. In a good way.

[Nathan Fillion]

When they told you your show was canceled, would you have believed them if they said, oh, don't worry for 25 years, you guys are gonna be set?

[Morena Baccarin]

Do you remember that pity party we all had at your house?

[Sean Maher]

I do, yes.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yes, I do. I remember. I remember. We got the news. We hung out of my house. We're all gonna. We really sucked the life out of us. And I was not. Because we weren't finished filming, we had to go back to work and film. And I said, this is gonna really blow. And it didn't. It was like everyone was determined to suck every last bit of joy out of that program that they could. And it was incredible. It was like we would. We're gonna have a good time despite it.

[Moderator]

Well, I think I speak for everyone in this room when we say thank you for making Washington, D.C. be the place where this gets announced. This is fantastic. Thank you all for coming today and standing. There's so many people in this room today. And let's put our hands together one more time for the cast of Firefly.

[Gina Torres]

You got this. Now do what you do best.

[Nathan Fillion (Podcast Outro)]

Hello and thank you for listening. This is Nathan Fillion. Now is the part where I read aloud the credits for our show in my best telephone voice. So put on some headphones, lay back, and relax because this is our time. If you haven't yet, you can always head over to our Patreon to get bonus content, longer episodes, and a chance to get your hands on some incredible crap. If you love the show, please leave us a review and feel free to tell all your friends. If you didn't love the show, now is the time for quiet contemplation. Once We Were Spacemen is a collision 33 production. Some of the names I will mention are my favorite people in the world, and some of them have room for improvement. You know who you are. If you hear your name being read, please stand up. This show is produced by Siobhan Homan, Michelle Chapman, and Josh Lebbey of Collision 33. We are edited, mixed, and produced by Resonate Recordings, with special thanks to Courtney Blomquist and Adam Townsell. Our theme music is done by Carlos Sosa and Joshua Moore. Artwork by the incredible and incomparable Louis Jensen. But gonna tell you right now, I think he fakes his accent. Until next time.

[Alan Tudyk]

Can't stop the signal.