Nearly two years ago fans rallied to raise money for Nathan Fillion so he could purchase the rights to Firefly and ideally, bring the series back to TV. The effort was brought on in response to a joke made by Fillion where he said if he won the lottery he'd bring the show back. Unfortunately for the fans who pledged their support, Joss Whedon and co. did not approve of the movement and it was immediately shut down.

That certainly doesn't mean that Whedon doesn't want to see Nathan Fillion suit up once again as Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds. In fact, bringing the crew of the Serenity together again is something he'd "love to do."

In chatting with Steve Tilley of the Toronto Sun newspaper, Whedon reflects on the canceled-too-early sci-fi television series that won the hearts of millions, many of them after the show ended its short run on the air, leading to an eventual feature film, Serenity.

"I'll never really accept it. And I always, in the back of my head, think, 'What if I could get the old gang back together?' "

Is Whedon actually interested in bringing back the cast of Firefly? After all, they did have a near-complete reunion at Comic-Con last summer which resulted in a very emotional "thank you" to the fans, while providing a reminder of just how special the chemistry was for everyone involved.

"Well, you know, it's something I would love to do. When I made Serenity (2005's feature film continuation of Firefly's storyline), I said here's one thing I'll never do again -- a movie based on something that some people know about and some people don't, with tons of characters who all know each other and who you have to introduce... And then my second movie was The Avengers."

Serenity Movie Wallpaper

Is such an endeavor possible given Whedon's commitments after having signed a three-year exclusivity deal with Marvel Studios to not only develop the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show for ABC and to write/direct The Avengers 2, but to help oversee all of the Phase Two Marvel movies?

"Part of me is like, 'God, it would be great when I finish Avengers 2 to do that. I suspect very strongly that after Avengers 2 the next thing I do will be a one-man show. Possibly one monkey."

While Whedon's words could very well be getting fans' hopes up, by the time The Avengers 2 releases in 2015, some of the key cast members will have more availability. Nathan Fillion is currently tied up with Castle, while Morena Baccarin is keeping busy with the award-winning Homeland.

Serenity sequel or a follow-up Firefly miniseries would ideally see the return of stars Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher and Summer Glau. For obvious reasons, Alan Tudyk and Ron Glass would likely not.

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Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes if you're a Firefly fan.

Source: Toronto Sun