“Well ultimately it was the biggest challenge I ever faced. But I knew I was making this for people who’d never seen the show and that if I explained who somebody was, the fans would forgive me. You do that every week in episodic television anyway. ‘Hello Simon the Doctor.’ ‘Jayne the Mercenary, how are you?’ It’s just inevitable that that will happen. But these people explain who they are through their characters.
If you speak and I can’t tell exactly who’s talking, that’s not writing characters. So that makes it kind of simpler. You don’t have to explain everybody because through their speech, their bearing, their costume, they explain themselves. So that did some of the work for me,” explained Whedon.
Joss Whedon on Balancing Characters: “Ultimately you do diminish the amount of screen time certain characters have. You have to focus on a couple of people, in this case Mal and River. What you make sure of though is that when somebody is onscreen they have something to do. They’re funny, they’re sexy. They have a perspective. They bring something to the party that no one else brings. So that no matter how much screen time they have, when they’re onscreen it’s their movie.”
Joss Whedon on the Change in Tone from “Firefly” to “Serenity:” “Not terribly. Some people have called it darker. I thought the series was kind of dark. Ultimately, I write visions of the world that are a little tough. Our heroes go through a lot but they become heroes because of that. If you make things too easy on them, it ain’t drama.”
Joss Whedon on Saying Goodbye to His Cast – Twice: “Well I don’t know if we’re ever going to get a chance to do this again. I’d love to and I think everybody feels the same… (Laughing) Well, except for Nathan [Fillion]. Nobody wants to be with Nathan. Oh, he’s standing right there. Wow, that’s weird. But ultimately, you know, we didn’t say goodbye because these are my friends. They are very dear to me. And also we’ve been doing a lot of press together.”
On the Quick Cancellation of “Firefly:” “I didn’t expect it to be yanked. I expected that some people might have a little trouble with the paradigm, but that ultimately it explains itself. Sci-fi and Westerns sound antithetical. They’re not. It’s a pioneer story. It’s the people who live on the fringe of society. That fringe happens to be a planet instead of the coast of California, but it’s the same experience. And that’s an experience that’s happened throughout humanity so it makes perfect sense that it would keep happening later.”
Joss Whedon on the Future of “Serenity” and “Firefly:” “Ultimately I’m looking at “Serenity 2” and “3” and “4.” But I may be living in a fantasy world. If it went back to series, that would be a very odd transition but I’m known for odd transitions. Any way I could tell this story with these people, I’d be interested in doing it.”
”Serenity” Star Morena Baccarin as “Wonder Woman:” “I don’t know. (Laughing) She’s a homely creature but she’s got the acting chops.”
Joss Whedon on the Status of “Wonder Woman:” “I’m working on it but I’m not standing anywhere in terms of casting.”
Watch the Video - Joss Whedon at the Premiere of "Serenity"
