Yeah, it's not a great name for anyone coming to it blind, although I'm hard pressed to think of a title that fits the film but is more accessible.

There's also Wizard of Oz, Princess Bride, and Citizen Kane. Success at the box office is only tangentially related to the film's quality, or even its appeal. It's a snapshot in time of how many people were convinced to pay money to see it in a theater during it's limited theatrical window.

Tickets did not cost double. It was a 3.5 hour viewing experience. You had Planet Terror and Death Proof along with the fake trailers and fake coming attractions, commercials, etc. I saw Grindhouse in its entirety 3 times in theaters. One of the best movie theater experiences ever.

I loved watching Grindhouse in theaters. I was very willing to indulge.

It was the usual admission price. I was anxious to see it, so I can't speak for the mainstream audience.

Cowboys, but in Space

What I don't understand. This is one of your favorite movies and you have watched it a couple of times and you still haven't watched the show?

no I haven’t watched the show and I’ve seen the movie more than a couple of times. So? No prerequisites required. It was a highly entertaining isolated movie based on something I never saw and couldn’t care less. I loved the actors, the production, the writing, the movie. That’s all I needed to enjoy. Perhaps I’ll get to the series one day, but in no rush.

If you ever get around to watching it, you are in a for A TREAT! This is one of the best shows of the last 20 years. Each episode is a gem, the performances, the directing, the production values, the writing (especially with the quotable dialogue) are all top tier. Well done and really fun!

I liked the series much more than the movie.

I don’t doubt it. I’m sure it is great and expands on what we saw in Serenity. I’m just countering the points that many seem so shocked that one could like a theatrical movie without watching the original source material. You don’t, you simply don’t need to see Firefly to enjoy this movie. That’s all I’m saying. Not sure why that is so hard to comprehend. I like good movies that tell good stories, whether original, based on a book, graphic novel or tv series. That’s it. You don’t always need to see, know or be aware of the original source to enjoy a movie that is just plain good. Or imo great. Would I have gotten more out of the movie if I saw and enjoyed the series? perhaps. But again, good material in whatever form that hits with the viewer (me) is what I look for.

I knew from day one that Serenity worked even if you haven't watched the show. Star Wars doesn't start from the beginning. George Lucas put the viewer in the middle of the story, intentionally. And it worked.

Serenity works on that level, and very well.

It works better if you've seen Firefly, but it still works very well as a standalone movie.

It's a great movie, and a great series. It's a shame that we never got a restart of the series, but the story ends pretty darned well in Serenity. No more is needed, but it would have been fun.

I'm not shocked at all that you like the movie without knowledge of the show. When Serenity came into cinema, I didn't even know there was a show. I saw the trailer, liked it, bought the DVD set of Firefly, watched it on the next weekend and went to see the movie. My best friend didn't know the show, just watched the movie and loved it as well.
What I'm 'shocked' about is that you love the movie and aren't in a rush to expand the world of Firefly.
Aliens was my first Alien movie and I couldn't wait to see the first one. Perhaps I'm just jealous, because you still have such a great season ahead of you.

Yes, the movie is able to stand on its own, but it is really deepened by the show. There are great character moments that are missed if you haven't seen it.

The movie Serenity was pretty good, but I'm still bummed that we didn't get five or six or seven seasons of Firefly.

So much was left on the table... the blue-handed guys, the Blue Sun mystery in the background. I also have a feeling that we would have found out more about Old Earth, someone would have taken a heel turn (Jayne? Book?), and that Saffron might have joined the main crew at some point.

I realize that Dark Horse Comics (and now Boom Studios) have been putting out comic books that deal with some of these mysteries, but it just isn't the same.

I decided to show my kiddos Firefly this week and we watched Serenity last night. I had forgotten how amazing this movie was. It really is one of the best sci-fi flicks of it's time. I watched the 4k which was freaking gorgeous. My oldest daughter noticed right away. I had told them about the show being a failure but they got to come back a few years later after cult success and make a movie. We watched the BD of Firefly but picture-wise it's pretty average. So we're a few minutes in and my daughter is like "this looks waaaay better than the show." I think she was expecting a TV movie like Psych (one of her favorite shows) and not a full theatrical film. What I also found interesting is that in the 3 years between the show and the movie, how much Fillion and Jewel Staite aged. Not in a bad way, but on the show Fillion was a baby faced Mal and in the movie he looked more like a man. I guess some of that could be from jumping from a average quality BD to 4k as well.

So with it fresh on my mind I remembered the bump and Oldboy getting shit for liking the movie despite not seeing the show. While he's probably in the extreme minority on that one, I can't argue with that at all, mostly for what Jay G said:

Serenity is so well made it completely stands on its own. Sure you're missing out on character backstory (Inara is wasted in this, and Book comes across as someone they simply crossed paths with during the show vs. being part of the crew), but for the most part everyone else is well developed and serves the story perfectly.

I really only have one major complaint and one minor. First the biggest action sequence at the climax of the movie takes place in a basically a closet. Did Joss run out of money at that point? The second, albeit minor, complaint is not using the theme song somewhere. Sure it was redone for the credits but it was basically unrecognizable.

This never got a continuation. Joss must have good credit after the Avengers. I wonder if it’s even a consideration for future projects.

Also different time. Character based sci fi wasn’t big then but is now.

I don't believe there will be a continuation, that ship has sailed, but if there is the tiniest chance, it will be a continuation on a streaming service. The movie is Universal production so Peacock could be a home for it, but the show was produced by Fox and I don't see Disney making a "version" of Guardians of the Galaxy.

Firefly is still a Fox property.

There is a quirk in the Writers' Guild contracts that give the creator of a tv series the right to shop the concept around to other studios for theatrical films. That is why Serenity ended up at Universal, and likely why it also wasn't called Firefly: The Movie.

Any new Firefly/Serenity based series would have to end on a Disney owned streaming service (Disney+ or Hulu), or Disney would need to be willing to license the concept out to another studio.

The 'verse has been expanded a bit through an ongoing comic book series from BOOM! Studios and several novels from Titan Books. However, I'm not sure if Whedon has any involvement with these, or even approves or consults on them, so their canonicity is dubious.

As for a new series or movie, I'm pretty sure Fillion has always said he's down to play Mal whenever Joss decides it's time to revisit it. No idea on the rest of the cast though.

I saw the novels at Barnes & Noble last week and I might have to give the first one a shot just because. As for Whedon's involvement; "Via Entertainment Weekly, series creator Joss Whedon will be a consulting editor on the new Firefly novels, and they will all be official stories within the canon of the franchise."

So that begs the question of timeline. When do these novels take place specifically in regards to certain characters' outcomes in Serenity? Or are they like Star Wars and just take place whenever the author sees fit?

I'm a huge Firefly/Serenity fan, but at this point I wouldn't want a new series or movie, unless maybe it was something taking place in the same universe but with entirely different characters. The story of Firefly was tied up beautifully in Serenity and with the amount of time that has now passed, just let it be the wonderful thing that it is.

Most of the stuff coming out now (the novels and BOOM! comics) take place pre-Serenity.

The only major works that take place post-Serenity are a two of the old Dark Horse titles, Leaves on the Wind and No Power in the 'Verse, and a handful of short comic stories like "Float Out," "It's Never Easy," and "Warrior and the Wind."

I think that the BOOM! comics might finally be moving into the post-Serenity era in the main series; they're also doing a series set twenty years later that focuses on the daughter of two of the characters.

I haven't been reading the BOOM! titles, but from what I've read online, some people have issues with the writing. Some of the interior art I've seen looks kind of dodgy and amateurish.

Huge fan of both the series and film and I also don't want a continuation at this point. I think everything was tied up perfectly.

Poked around online a bit and found this chronological order for the tv series, movies, comics, and novels.

that Firefly scene in Castle is still fucking gold.

I forgot about that.