If, for some reason, you don’t follow Nathan Fillion on Instagram, first of all, how dare you? But if that somehow applies to you, there’s a good chance you’ve been missing one of the most intriguing ongoing sci-fi gags in recent memory.
For the past few weeks, Fillion, who first rose to fame on the beloved show Firefly, has been filming videos opposite some of his co-stars from the cult classic show. And, in each one, they tease that “It’s time.” Time for what, exactly? Is Firefly finally coming back after all this time? Hmmm. If only a certain actor in a certain show had a perfect GIF for “Wait, probably not” because of “Wait, probably not.”
It all began on February 23 when Fillion posted the below video with Gina Torres.
“Oh wow,” Torres, who played Zoe on the show, says. “Does this mean it’s time?” “It’s time,” Fillion replies.
In the weeks since, he’s posted similar videos opposite Morena Baccarin (who played Inara), Sean Maher (who played Simon), Summer Glau (who played River), and, just this week, Jewel Staite (who played Kaylee). You can watch each of those at those links.
Now, you might be wondering, what about Alan Tudyk, who played Wash? Well, the videos are all coming not just from Fillion’s Instagram but also from the Once We Were Spacemen Instagram, which is the podcast Fillion and Tudyk have together. So, he’s a part of this, somehow, too.
Clues to what “it’s time” for have come in some of the captions. For example, in the Sean Maher video posted last week, the caption read, “Some of you have guessed convention, podcast, or crossover. You are wrong.” With those three options off the board, several of the most obvious possibilities are gone. No rewatch podcast. No big Comic-Con panel. No big crossover show featuring the actors.
One thing that isn’t dismissed, of course, is a revival or reboot of Firefly. However, lest we remind you, Firefly did get a second chance way back with the 2005 movie, Serenity, and creator Joss Whedon has largely fallen off the radar after allegations of verbal and mental abuse. You probably can’t do this without him, so we do not think that’s the case.
What we do know is when the news is coming. Fillion’s most recent video with Jewel Staite confirms it’s coming on Sunday, March 15. That just so happens to be the day that Fillion and Tudyk are on a Firefly panel at AwesomeCon in Washington, DC. So, we’re very confident they’ll announce the news then.
But what is the news? Well, Firefly debuted in 2002, which would make 2027 the 25th anniversary. We’re guessing now is the perfect time to announce some kind of mega, 25th-anniversary reunion… something. Either a one-time event or possibly even a tour. That’s purely speculative, but it would be a great way to give the show its flowers and to also honor Ron Glass, another member of the crew who passed a few years back. (TBD on if we get an Adam Baldwin video.)
Whatever the case, we definitely think this has been a fun little event, and we hope it ends in something really special. We just don’t think that if it were a revival or something bigger, this would be the way Fillion would do it.
What do you think is brewing from Fillion and the crew of the Serenity? Let us know.
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