It's all an ugly Alliance plot...

So my copy of Serenity arrived today and somehow, in between two Christmas parties, I was able to watch it (with Joss Whedon's great commentary) and most of the extras. Great film, great DVD, awesome commentary.

Then I was looking on Slashdot and I see this.

"...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. He has no regrets -- and he's moving on."

Which is strange because not only does the article come out the day of the DVD release but from everything I had read he only needed to break even on the film in order to continue making the rest of the planned trilogy. He was only about 3/4's of a million dollars short. The DVD sales are likely to be much greater than the film's actual box office take so there really should be no issue from a contractual/monetary standpoint to making more movies based on Firefly.

This makes me wonder. Is Whedon really abandoning his baby and moving on to a big-screen Buffy (based on the TV show) or is this just something cunningly leaked the day of the DVD in order to rally the browncoats of the world to get all of their friends multiple copies of the movie so that Joss can actually make more movies?

I wouldn't be surprised if it's the latter. Serenity is the movie that should never have been and it turned out to be my favourite flick of the year. Maybe DVD sales can continue to perpetually raise this franchise from the ashes. Or not. I'm satisfied with the show/movie as they stand but it would be a shame to not see the further adventures of Serenity and her crew.

Stupid Hollywood. They can churn out the Star Wars prequels and 800 Star Trek movies but something as brilliant as Serenity/Firefly gets the shaft... or booted out the airlock, as it were. Just goes to show.

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What I'm Reading: The Year Of Our War (if I don't pass out before reading it tonight)
What I'm Playing: Finished Prince Of Persia: The Two Thrones, Eve Online, Final Fantasy IV
What I'm Watching: Serenity

Take me out to the black...