Comic-Con 2011: Firefly at Nerd HQ Recap

Nerd HQ strikes again! When Chuck’s Zachary Levi asked us all on Twitter a few weeks ago who we’d like to see at the Nerd-HQ, I quickly replied “Firefly!”.  I figured since Zach was good friends with co-star Adam Baldwin..it could happen.. and wouldn’t you know it?  It did! Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, and Alan Tudyk were nice enough to show up and hang out with about 150 fans that lucked into attending the two hour event at Nerd HQ (Fillion had to cancel and later had his own panel..sigh).  Zach, being a huge Firefly fan himself stuck around and watched the panel with the rest of us while eating some breakfast and relaxing.  Firefly is just one of those shows that seems to get better with age, and even though it was cancelled before it completed its first season, fans have kept the ship flying by supporting the franchise in every way possible.  Go Browncoats!

The Panel: The cast of Firefly are all friends, and it shows. I can't tell you how many panels I've been to over the years where you can clearly see that the cast much rather not be sitting next to each other in front of an audience. Seeing the Firefly cast joke around and tell stories really was a treat. It is incredibly clear that these guys LOVE each other like family. Alan Tudyk stole the show and gave away tons of "shit" (his words... not mine) from his own personal "shit" collection. Sadly, none of the "shit" was Firefly related, but it was still incredibly nice of him to give away memorabilia (no matter how bizzare). Tudyk also joked that Fillion was "on the way" prompting fans to repeatedly rubber-neck and check the entrance for the Captain's dramatic entrance... that never came.

Questions: Here are some of the highlights of panel’s more interesting questions.

Q: Who would play the young version of your character in a flashback-year one scenario? A: Jewel Staite – played by Jewel Staite because she doesn’t age. Alan Tudyk – Played by Macaulay Culkin because he’s a ginger. Adam Baldwin – played by Fred Savage from The Wonder Years (for no apparent reason).

Q: On the likelihood of a movie sequel: A: The cast seem willing to do another movie if the funding can be found (a sentiment also shared by Whedon). Baldwin goes on to say that the ship is probably the most expensive part of the show and costs over 2-million dollars to build. The ship was also destroyed after Firefly was cancelled, and then destroyed again after Serenity’s lackluster box-office.

Q: On actor input into character: Suggestions were welcomed but often not used. Tudyk went on to describe a “pitch” he gave to Whedon in which Wash removes his shirt revealing a collection of prison tattoos from the roughest prison in ‘the verse’. Tudyk also detailed an exchange between Wash and Jane lifting weights only to have the weights fall on Wash killing him. Poor Wash.

After sitting through the Firefly panel at NERD HQ and Joss Whedon’s panel the following day, one things was obvious, everyone, including Whedon, wants a Serenity sequel.  The only thing holding back the production is money…a lot of money.  Although Nathan Fillion stated in the past that he doesn’t want fans funding the next film, I doubt they’re listening.. Anyone have about 30 million laying around?

Check out our interview with Jewel Staite HERE