Firefly

Coming Soon — ’Serenity’ (Movies)

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Chiwetel Ejiofor • Directed by Joss Whedon

September 30, 2005 — Joss Whedon, the Oscar® and Emmy-nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. Universal Pictures is set to release the futuristic action-adventure September 30, 2005.

Based on Whedon’s cult hit television series "Firefly" (which has taken on a second life following its December 9, 2003, DVD release, winning new fans and critical praise worldwide), "Serenity" will continue and expand upon the adventures of the memorable characters launched in the series, who will be joined by new characters created expressly for the motion picture adaptation.

Whedon will act as both screenwriter and director, with Barry Mendel ("The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable" and the upcoming Wes Anderson film, "The Life Aquatic") producing and Chris Buchanan (president of Whedon’s Mutant Enemy production company) and Alisa Tager (of Barry Mendel Productions) serving as executive producers. The "Serenity" cast will include such returning "Firefly" cast members as Nathan Fillion as Captain Malcolm ’Mal’ Reynolds, Gina Torres as Zoe Warren, Morena Baccarin as Inara Serra, Jewel Staite as Kaylee Frye, Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb, Sean Maher as Dr. Simon Tam and Summer Glau as River Tam.

"We have wanted to be in business with Joss Whedon for a long time and we’re incredibly excited to be working with him on his feature film directorial debut," stated Parent and Stuber. "Joss is a true creator, whose talent crosses all mediums. His mythic worlds are inhabited with rich, detailed and very human characters. ’Serenity’ will provide him with a great opportunity to paint another larger-than-life canvas with very identifiable, real characters at the heart of the story."

Whedon - whose compelling use of character, place and dramatic development helped "Buffy" and "Angel" to break down genre walls and cross over into global hit mainstream territory - now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, "Serenity." He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family - squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.

When Mal takes on two new passengers — a young doctor and his unstable, telepathic sister — he gets much more than he bargained for. The pair are fugitives from the coalition dominating the universe, who will stop at nothing to reclaim the girl. The crew that was once used to skimming the outskirts of the galaxy unnoticed find themselves caught between the unstoppable military force of the Universal Alliance and the horrific, cannibalistic fury of the Reavers, savages who roam the very edge of space. Hunted by vastly different enemies, they begin to discover that the greatest danger to them may be on board "Serenity" herself.

In addition to creating the series "Firefly," "Angel" and "Buffy" (as well as serving as executive producer on all three while writing and directing multiple episodes), Whedon’s feature film screenwriting credits include the original motion picture "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Toy Story" (for which he received an Academy Award(R) nomination) and "Alien: Resurrection." Whedon also composed the music and wrote the lyrics for the self-directed "Buffy" episode "Buffy, The Musical," and the CD of the original songs from that landmark episode has sold more than 400,000 units. Whedon was nominated for the Emmy for outstanding writing on the "Buffy" episode entitled "Hush." "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is the second highest-selling television series on DVD.

Get a Sneak Peek at "Serenity" on June 23 in these Cities:

Crossgates 120 B Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12203

Hollywood 24@ North 1-85 3265 Northeast Expressway Chamblee, GA 30341

Gateway 16 9700 Stone Lake Blvd Austin, TX 78759

Boston Commons 175 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02111

Rivereast 21 322 East Illinois Street Chicago, IL 60611

Stonecrest 7824 Rea Road Charlotte, NC 28277

Newport On The Levee 20 One Levy Way, Suite 4100 Newport, KY 41071

Lennox Town Center 24 777 Kinnear Road Columbus, OH 43212

Valley View 16 13331 Preston Road #2300 Dallas, TX 75240

Highland Ranch 24 103 W. Centennial Blvd. Highlands Ranch, CO 80129

Buckland Hills Manchester 99 Redstone Road Manchester, CT 06045

Greenway Grand Palace Stadium 24 3839 Weslayan Street Houston, TX 77027

Regal Galaxy 8105 E. 96th Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46256

Barrywoods 24 8101 NW Roanridge Kansas City, MO 64151

Palms 14 4321 West Flamingo Road Las Vegas, NV 89103

Jurupa 8032 Limonite Avenue Riverside, CA 92509

Aventura Mall 24 19501 Biscayne Blvd. - 3001 Aventura, FL 33180

Paradiso 584 South Mendenhall Memphis, TN 38117

Southdale 16 400 Southdale Center Edina, MN 55435

Jersey Gardens 651 Kapkowski Road Elizabeth, NJ 07201

MacArthur Center 18 300 Monticello Avenue Norfolk, VA 23510

Neshaminy 24 3900 Rockhill Drive Bensalem, PA 19020

Arizona Mills I-24 5000 Arizona Mills Circle Tempe, AZ 82825

Waterfront 300 West Waterfront Drive West Homestead, PA 15120

Eastport 16 4040 South #. 82nd Avenue Portland, OR 97266

Providence Place Mall 16 10 Providence Place Providence, RI 02903

Roseville 14 1555 Eureka Rd Roseville, CA 95661

Century 16 125 E. 3300S Salt Lake City, UT 84115

Van Ness 14 1000 Van Ness San Francisco, CA 94109

Meridian 16 7th & Pike / 1501 7th Avenue Seattle, WA 98101

Creve Coeur 12 10465 Olive Blvd Creve Coeur, MO 63141

Veterans Expressway 24 9302 Anderson Road Tampa, FL 33634

Paramount 259 Richmond Street West Toronto, ON M5V3M6 Canada

Paramount 900 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC V6Z3G5 Canada

Georgetown 14 3111 K Street NW Washington, DC 20007