Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

S E R E N I T Y

Mr. Anderson said:
so any word yet on whether or not there will be any more movies in the series?
Click to expand...
Not yet, but http://whedonesque.com will probably be the first to post any hints of a decision. Creator Joss Whedon has stated fairly recently that sequels are neither a sure thing, nor a lost cause. (And I'd personally rather see Fox sell the TV rights, and get a new series--more hours and more stories! Unlikely, I know. The effects were costly on a TV budget.)

But the movie didn't lose money yet... it's still MAKING money (it only just opened in some countries, and in the US it is now in "dollar theaters"), and more importantly, like other movies, it's likely to make far more in DVD sales/rentals (it's coming to DVD in the US just prior to Christmas).

In the past, other movies that relied on DVD sales before they turned a profit have gotten sequels. So the in-theaters dollar amount alone is not the deciding factor. And Universal has said there is no particular dollar threshold--it's a more complicated decision to be made. Plus, Serenity came in under budget, and then opened quite well for a sci-fi movie--not to mention the great reviews--so by many measures it has been a success already. It just didn't have the "star power" to draw in blockbuster crowds on day one.

And don't forget, Joss Whedon has a long history of "doing the impossible" when it comes to getting his vision out to the world. Getting his Buffy vision on TV for 7 years, after the movie concept was taken from him and butchered? Unheard of. Firefly on DVD? Firefly marathons on Sci Fi? A Firefly MOVIE? With the entire original cast and the entire 200 foot ship re-built from scratch? These are all near miracles for a quickly-axed TV show that can't easily be described in a marketing sound bite. And nearly everyone who sees Firefly and Serenity loves them, so I'm optimistic about another miracle on the way.

I don't think we'll know any time soon, though.

(PS, spoiler discussion of the movie here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/152189/ )
 
Amazon is accepting preorders for the Serenity DVD, which is being released on December 20.

Of course I've already had mine preordered. Have you?
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Raven VII said:
Amazon is accepting preorders for the Serenity DVD, which is being released on December 20.

Of course I've already had mine preordered. Have you?
Click to expand...
No, because I just go to Best Buy and pick up DVDs the day they're released. ;)
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I plan to own Serenity and Firefly.

But only when Universal gets on board with Blu-ray! :)

I don't own a single DVD. Why start now? I want high definition!

A double-layer BD can, I believe hold, an entire TV season in SDTV. So I can have all of 13 cumulative years of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly in about a dozen discs :)
 
Raven VII said:
Amazon is accepting preorders for the Serenity DVD, which is being released on December 20.

Of course I've already had mine preordered. Have you?
Click to expand...
February 27th in the UK. How wrong is that?
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I am really curious about whether or not a sequel will be made. Was enough made on the first movie to justify a second being made?

It may be too early to tell, but it would be a real shame if the rest of the movies were not made.

Is there any news at all, good or bad, concerning the making of a sequel?

Maybe DVD sales will make a difference. I will be ordering a copy, both cause I enjoyed the movie and cause I would like to see the sequels made.
 
Xtremehkr said:
I am really curious about whether or not a sequel will be made. Was enough made on the first movie to justify a second being made?

It may be too early to tell, but it would be a real shame if the rest of the movies were not made.

Is there any news at all, good or bad, concerning the making of a sequel?

Maybe DVD sales will make a difference. I will be ordering a copy, both cause I enjoyed the movie and cause I would like to see the sequels made.
Click to expand...

I haven't heard either way, but I suspect DVD sales will weigh heavily into it. Luckily, it's on amazon's most gifted DVDs top-ten. :cool:
 
If this is true - SciFi channel might make a feature movie and then maybe it will go the way of BattleStar Galactica and we'll get the series back again :D

D
 
I think it's too early for real news of sequels. I think that's baseless speculation, or else a "trial balloon."

But I WOULD be very happy! I know Fox owns the TV rights--but they can sell them just like they did the movie rights.

I'd actually much rather Firefly returned to TV (or DVD premiere?) than to theaters. Either one would be great--and movies have bigger FX budgets. But the show had great FX anyway, by the same team that did the movie.

And TV doesn't have the time limit. Movies means 2 hours of Serenity fun every year or three. TV (or DVD) means more hours are possible (not certain, just possible). More stories, more depth, longer plot arcs, long-term mysteries, etc.

Movies are like short stories. A TV mini-series is like a novel. Which can even grow into a SERIES of novels. You can have a lot more in-depth storytelling in the longer "novel" format, and Joss Whedon is good at those long build-ups.

Sci Fi would be a great place to start. Maybe with a TV movie, but better yet: with a 2 to 5 night mini-series.

And we all know what happened with the Battlestar Galactica mini-series :)

If we ever have have BSG and Serenity/Firefly both as ongoing shows, it will truly be the golden age of sci fi series.
 
Although Joss Whedon's "camp" completely denies it (plus he's said recently that Serenity DVD sales will be vital to any decisions), here's a little more on the gossip (ONLY gossip) of new Firefly movie(s) coming to the Sci Fi channel some day:

http://www.brollywood.net/index.php/115/serenity-ii-a-sci-fi-original

(And a teaser: twice now I've seen Whedon in an interview mention that Jubal Early may return. I wouldn't complain. I think I liked the Operative less because I was comparing him to Early who I liked better!)
 
Badradio said:
February 27th in the UK. How wrong is that?
Click to expand...

Might as well just order it from the US.

Had its premier on the big screen in Norway a few days ago. Except that it was limited to some of the bigger cities. And I have no idea when it will be shown in the local cinema. Doesn't appear to be scheduled for December, nor January. If it's not shown before February, or later, I might as well just get it on DVD straight away, from either the US or the UK.

Bleh.
 
Apparently some US stores have the DVD early. I didn't realize stores do that sometimes. In NYC especially?
 
My husband and I just finished Netflixing the whole Firefly series about a month ago and have been raving about the series ever since (as my co-worker says "It's SOOOO goooood!"). We've been in anxious anticipation for the Serenity DVD to show up at our door. The only sad thing is that the DVD gets released the day after we leave the country. It will be three more weeks before we'll be able to see it! Ack!!!
 
So I saw Serenity on DVD last night. I really don't see what the buzz or fascination is over this movie. I haven't seen Firefly, so I am coming to this movie with no pre-conceptions, expectations, or ideas.

The movie played like any other ordinary sci-fi film. It had it's funny moments, (my favorite was the the 'I'm just a leaf in the wind' scene while dodging the Alliance and the Reapers) and some great one-liners. The Serenity universe seemed a little myopic, without the grand scale we expect from films like Star Wars. You know, with SW, there was mythology and good vs evil. I didn't get any sense of something grander with Serenity.

Special effects were so-so. I take it the cast are original cast members from the TV series? I'll have to catch Firefly and then re-watch Serenity again to see if my perspective on the movie has changed.

6.5/10


Here's to the Crazy Ones ​
 
Thanks for the outsider viewpoint. I think it just depends on what you're looking for, and Serenity is hard to categorize. Different kinds of movie for different people. Many non-Firefly-fans loved Serenity, but really KNOWING all the characters in advance certainly helps you enjoy it more. Like Inara--to an outsider she's just an "ex," and that's fine for the story. But in reality, she's not an ex, she's something much more complicated and interesting.

If you expect that sci-fi must be a grand spectacle with a vast mythology, Serenity isn't the biggest out there, and there are lots of those movies to choose from. If you expect sci-fi to be pure emotion and contemplation, Solaris will be your kind film (I liked Solaris too).

In the middle is something like Serenity--just a good old-fashioned adventure with some interesting characters, but well-crafted, and a nice change from other sci-fi. In fact, it's about people more than about sci-fi. It's meant to focus on a few downtrodden "outsiders" rather than to paint a grand canvas of a vast future. Plus, Serenity has a sense of humor and likable characters that are often missing from "antiseptic" sci-fi (like the hollow feel of recent Star Wars characters--despite the enjoyable FX spectacles). I'd compare that aspect to Indiana Jones: not a comedy, but not afraid of some quips and humor.

And Serenity, like all of Joss Whedon's work, is a little odd. Odd world, odd speech patterns... it's not what you expect because it's not a clone of other things. That can be distracting, compared to the comfort of watching a clear-cut genre you understand. When I first watched Buffy I did not know WHAT to make of it. Is it a drama? An action adventure? A parody? A comedy? It's none of the above and all of the above--it's its own thing, and can't be pigeonholed. Serenity and Firefly are the same way.

As for the FX, I really like Zoic's shaky, hand-focussed "virtual camera" style (shared with Firefly and Galactica), but it's not everyone's thing.

I do recommend watching the series (it's only four DVDs)--it's even MORE focussed on people and less on spectacle, but to me, that makes it better than the movie, not worse. And yes, the whole cast is the same :)

Now, one reason I'd expect people to like it LESS: the very fact of how much other people like it! I'm thinking of My Big Fat Greek Wedding: not my thing, but I would have liked it just fine--EXCEPT that everyone around me LOVED it beyond what I could understand! That made me like it less than I would have, somehow. Same with Wallace and Gromit--they're enjoyable, but I don't get why so many people LOVE them so. I expect Serenity may be the same way: if it's your thing then it is, but if it's not, you'll be left wondering what you missed. That's OK--different things for different tastes.

It's good to see such widespread critical acclaim, though--a validation that we Firefly fans don't JUST like it because it has our favorite crew. It stands by itself has a good movie too.
 
nagromme said:
Thanks for the outsider viewpoint.
Click to expand...
Another outsider viewpoint...

Based on this thread, I decided to rent the DVD.

Just finished watching it.

Wow, good movie!

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Fun to watch. Decent plot. Good humor that fit the scenes. Felt real unlike most F/X sci-fi types.

Glad I saw the thread otherwise I probably would not have watched the movie.

Sushi
 
There's news Joss Whedon is abandoning Firefly because Serenity wasn't able to get the franchise started off the ground.

http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1141343_1_0_,00.html

''I should say I'm above reading reviews,'' he says. ''But I would be lying.'' Alas, Whedon's fond memories are also tainted by Serenity's status as a franchise nonstarter; despite Universal's best marketing efforts, the film only mustered $25 million. ''In the end, it was what it was: a tough sell,'' says Whedon, adding that it appears the Firefly saga has reached its conclusion.
Click to expand...
 
Lacero said:
There's news Joss Whedon is abandoning Firefly because Serenity wasn't able to get the franchise started off the ground.

http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1141343_1_0_,00.html
Click to expand...

yeah, a lot of other sites though are discrediting that report. Who knows... I hope it isn't true though. I'm only a recent convert. Bought the TV show on DVD and loved it. Saw the movie in New Zealand (it had already finished in Australia before I finished watching the DVDs).
 
Right--EW is reporting the opposite of what Joss Whedon himself has recently said--and offers no quotes to back up their interpretation. They've put words in Joss's mouth. Don't take EW's little note too seriously.

Whedon and Universal have both said clearly, from the beginning and again recently, that DVD sales will be a determining factor--and those are only just beginning. No decision, bad or otherwise, is known yet. (And Whedon also said recently that he'd consider more Firefly in any form--not just in theaters. TV or DVD premiere too.) Plus, again, Serenity has done better (in dollars, not just the good reviews--which keep rolling in for the DVD now) than OTHER sci-fi movies that did get sequels :)

The ONLY disappointment is that the movie didn't miraculously draw the same blockbuster crowds that it would have if it had name-brand star power. That would have been cool, but was never likely. A lot of people choose movies by the cast and are afraid of new actors.

Time will tell. Any source claiming to know about sequels either way, this early, should be met with skepticism.
 
Aussie reader heads up,

Serenity dual disk set comes in a collectable tin exclusive the ezydvd

http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/784707

Oh and heres the limited ed stuff for Australia in case anyone is interested.

Special Features:
A Filmmakers Journey - Journey with Joss from Script to Screen ( exclusive to Australian DVD)
Joss Whedon Q&A Session - Filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney (exclusive to Australian DVD)
Extended Scenes (exclusive to Australian DVD)
Take a Walk on Serenity - Cast and Crew take us on a special tour of the Serenity ship (exclusive to Australian DVD)
The Green Clan - Expose on Cinematographer Jack Green and his team (exclusive to Australian DVD)
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Future History - The Story of Earth That Was
What's In A Firefly
Re-lighting The Firefly
Joss Whedon Introduction
Feature Commentary
Easter Egg - We'll Have A Fruity Oaty Good Time
 
nagromme said:
The ONLY disappointment is that the movie didn't miraculously draw the same blockbuster crowds that it would have if it had name-brand star power. That would have been cool, but was never likely. A lot of people choose movies by the cast and are afraid of new actors.
Click to expand...
I am glad that Serenity didn't have name-brand star power.

As an outsider, that's what makes the movie fun because you don't know for sure who is the key person.

I would think that DVD sales may be an indicator as to the future of this movie/series. My guess is that Serenity will be a popular DVD!

Sushi
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back