And I hope it's the start of even more movies or a return to television. I'm thrilled for Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy that they got the chance to continue with Firefly.

Firefly Flanatic | March 21, 19:20 CET

Most of it will be shot on stages on the U lot. The handful of locations will be in the L.A. area.

That would contradict the rumors that there was going to be location shooting in New York state and New York City.

bookrats | March 21, 19:41 CET

"You have no idea what this means to writers," Whedon says. "You took something you love and you got a second shot. Do you know how often that happens to writers? Never."

Sweeter words have never been spoken.

electricspacegirl | March 21, 20:36 CET

I knew that New York rumor was too good to be true.

I'm so glad to read that Universal has been interested in Joss and the gang at ME for a long time. Perhaps this is the start of a long and successful relationship...

wissxwe | March 21, 21:07 CET

It's so satisfying to read that some Hollywood suits appreciate Joss' talent. Here's hoping that Universal is up to the job of nurturing Whedon as a writer/director. I'd love to see Joss become a huge star in the Hollywood firmament.

punkinpuss | March 21, 21:16 CET

Amen, wissxwe, amen...a colleague at work (who'd never watched any Joss stuff and whose whole family is now utterly hooked on all things Whedonesque) said she hopes they'll crank one out every 10 months or so for then next 10 years!

I'm more than okay with that.

Chris inVirginia | March 21, 22:07 CET

For a Variety article, this was surprisingly short on the butchering of the English language. Kudos to that, it was nice not to kill any brain cells so early in the morning.

MindPieces | March 21, 22:08 CET

Ah I want this movie to succeed so badly I can almost taste it. Imagine a Firefly franchise. Imagine Joss with Hollywood movie clout....fingers hurt from crossing.

EdDantes | March 22, 02:43 CET

Well as long as we don't get a "Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson" type situation for an Angel and Spike movie, I'd love to see what Joss can do in Hollywood.

Simon | March 22, 02:53 CET

Universal + Joss Whedon = me very happy for two reasons:

(1) Universal's apparent enthusiasm for Joss Whedon and the Serenity project will hopefully manifest into their rigorous promotion of the movie. Since I have faith that Joss will create a film worthy of both critical and commercial success, I believe (perhaps naively) that all that is needed is Universal's support for the Firefly franchise to be a blockbuster hit.

(2) Universal is releasing the highly-anticipated Hugh Jackman summer flick, "Van Helsing". According to an article in EW's current issue, "Universal is so hot on monsters nowadays...", and is hoping to create a huge new franchise with this movie. If this movie is a hit (as most experts expect it to be) and Universal is able to revive the whole vampire/werewolf genre (in a way that "Underworld" could never hope to), then perhaps Universal might be interested in another monster franchise.

Assuming (1) and (2) happen, wouldn't that be the perfect time for a Buffy movie?

mai | March 22, 03:35 CET

Assuming (1) and (2) happen, wouldn't that be the perfect time for a Buffy movie?

I say so! That is exactly what I was thinking when I first heard that Universal has been eager to work with Joss for a long time now. That's very promising.

Weeee!

electricspacegirl | March 22, 05:13 CET

I am also so hoping this movie succeeds just because it was such a great story being told and also because I want the Fox executives to squirm big time when their bosses ask them how they screwed it up so bad. Over 200,000 dvd sets sold. That's a tremendous amount for a tv series that didn't make it past the half way mark of it's first season. And it shows how much it's popularity has grown since then.

Another reason I think Universal is excited about this is the scheduled release date, June 2005. Don't movie studios always release what they think will be big hits in the summer?

Firefly Flanatic | March 22, 05:48 CET

Isn't Mary Parent (Universal Exec), Marc Blucas' significant other? Give thanks to Riley Finn!

Ruby2 | March 22, 08:03 CET

Isn't Mary Parent (Universal Exec), Marc Blucas' significant other?

Someone else mentioned that to me today. Very cool.

electricspacegirl | March 22, 08:46 CET

Isn't Mary Parent ... Marc Blucas' significant other?

Well, I declare! Captain Cardboard's alter ego is dating the person responsible for greenlighting Joss? God bless Hollywood nepotism. ;) Her appreciation of ME's creative value has the potential to make us all very, very happy.

So, how soon after 'Serenity' goes into production should we start sending Universal postcards and letters saying how passionately we'd support a BtVS or AtS picture on the big screen?

Wiseblood | March 22, 10:12 CET

I could definitely see Blucas as an intersteller cowpoke...perhaps he needs a gig.

bobster | March 22, 21:26 CET

Yikes, I hope that Van Helsing's success is not tied to Firefly at all -- from the trailers, I feel that the movie is pretty much a coin flip as far as whether it flops or not.

brother_grady | March 22, 21:30 CET

Early reviews of Van Helsing have been pretty negative. Could be this years "Underworld" or an other critic proof movie.

Simon | March 22, 21:38 CET

i have only heard good things about van helsing..........and the trailer i way this weekend while watching "dawn of the dead" it looked like a pretty damn good movie. and i loved underworld as well......hmm, maybe thats why i know i'll like this one, and the underworld sequel. owell

norman | March 22, 22:40 CET