The other day the followers of VERONICA MARS put their money where their fandom is, and got a movie for their beloved series greenlit thanks to over $2 million in donations to a Kickstarter campaign. While the results of this are yet to be seen, there’s no doubt that fans of other cancelled before their time television series are wondering if they can get the same deal.
One series I’m sure people immediately thought of was FIREFLY. Sure, it would be very awesome to see the show back on the air, and while Joss Whedon felt “unfettered joy” for the Marsians, he just doesn’t see it happening for FIREFLY:
That’s what everybody wants to know about. Uh, yeah. My fourth feeling when I read about [the Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign] was a kind of dread. Because I realized the only thing that would be on everybody’s mind right now. I’ve said repeatedly that I would love to make another movie with these guys, and that remains the case. It also remains the case that I’m booked up by Marvel for the next three years, and that I haven’t even been able to get Dr. Horrible 2 off the ground because of that. So I don’t even entertain the notion of entertaining the notion of doing this, and won’t. Couple years from now, when Nathan [Fillion]‘s no longer [on] Castle and I’m no longer the Tom Hagen of the Marvel Universe and making a giant movie, we might look and see where the market is then. But right now, it’s a complete non-Kickstarter for me.
Aside from scheduling, taking on another movie (while still in the cards down the road) or more episodes of the series will need significantly a lot more money. However, as Whedon states below, you can get it made cheaper these days, but there’s the pressure of making something worthy to the fans and deciding what he would bring: series or film?:
Yes. We come to Veronica Mars to hear her talk and hear her father talk. But Firefly/Serenity, it’s kind of a different animal — and then there’s also the question of what kind of animal it is. Because some people are talking about Firefly episodes. Some people are talking about [a new] Serenity. I think anything we could get off the ground would be appreciated by the fans. But what form it would take is I think under some debate. For me, [Kickstarter] doesn’t just open the floodgates. God knows, things are cheaper now than when we made even Serenity. Good effects can be done in a different manner. Nor is that universe all about spectacle either. But it is a tad more expensive — and a little all-consuming! And of course, there’s the other fear: What if it’s not that good? I can do something that’s not that good — that’s fine. But if I do that and it’s not that good, I’m going to feel really stupid. Because I’m too busy to deal with it, I did have a moment of just, “Oh my god! I’m in trouble now.” I’ve always said, “Yes, I’d love to do another one,” and it’s still true. But I sort of got slapped in the face with it. Or probably will.
There’s also the fact that the whole Kickstarter situation has fans contributing money to something that they aren’t truly investing in. The studio still looms over, and the situation was set in motion because the studio was not willing to put up any money on a project that they just didn’t think that people wanted to see. Whedon thinks that people knew what they were getting in to, and that if it were a bad idea it would have not worked out:
You know, I get that. I understand that it feels not as pure, and that the presence of a studio makes it disingenuous somehow. But people clearly understood what was happening and just wanted to see more of the thing they love. To give them that opportunity doesn’t feel wrong. If it was a truly wrong move, I don’t think it would have worked. I feel like people would have said, “Hey, that’s not fair! That doesn’t count!” It costs a lot to see a movie anyway. And it’s usually not one you like. That kind of passion, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. I might not be thinking it through. I’m not exactly business Joe.