Firefly returns as an animated series with controversial creator Joss Whedon’s blessing

After teasing a major announcement for the past few weeks, actor Nathan Fillion took the stage at Awesome Con on Sunday, March 15 to announce a new season of Firefly. The catch? The beloved live-action space-western will return as an animated series set between the end of the original show and the follow-up film Serenity.

Fillion was joined onstage by his Firefly castmates: Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau. Not present was Adam Baldwin, who will also voice his character. Fillion also shared concept art for the new series from animation studio ShadowMachine (BoJack Horseman, Robot Chicken), which was published online as a Deadline exclusive.

In an Instagram video, Fillion shared the news directly with fans, reconfirming several details originally announced at Awesome Con. The Firefly reboot already has a script and a pair of showrunners in Marc Guggenheim (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow) and Tara Butters (Agent Carter, Reaper); the two are also married and first met “through Firefly,” Fillion says. The revival has the approval of 20th Century Studios, which produced the original series, along with 20th Century’s current owner, Disney.

Most notably, Fillion says he has the approval of Firefly’s creator, Joss Whedon, the TV showrunner behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer who vanished from Hollywood following a series of allegations of inappropriate conduct by his former coworkers. (There’s too much to cover here, but you can read up on Whedon’s controversies in this excellent New York Magazine investigation/profile.) Whedon is reportedly not involved with the revival series.

​Firefly aired for one season in the fall and winter of 2002 before it was canceled by Fox. A 2005 movie, titled Serenity after the name of a spaceship where much of the series is set, continued the story while offering some degree of closure. But in the two decades since, fans have continued to ask for more. Now, finally, Firefly is on the verge of a comeback.

Firefly season 1 is streaming on Hulu.