'Firefly' creator Joss Whedon and the cast come to Comic-Con

Whedon and several stars from the show will appear for a panel at Comic-Con.

If you were ever a fan of the short-lived FOX program Firefly and its subsequent feature film, Serenity, then chances are your ears perk up anytime whispers of a reunion or continuation of the series makes their way through the rumor-filled corridors of the Internet. Now, in an effort to celebrate the 10-year anniversary, and to likely put to rest any belief that it will ever be a full-fledged program again, the cast of Firefly will be reuniting for a panel at this year’s Comic-Con.

The panel comes courtesy of Science Channel, which has been airing reruns of the sci-fi show since 2011. Creator Joss Whedon and writer Tim Minear along with Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb), Alan Tudyk (Hoban Washburne), Sean Maher (Simon Tam) and Michael Fairman (Adelai Niska) are all scheduled to make an appearance at the hour-long panel that Science Channel says will also include “numerous buzz-worthy surprises” – so read into that whatever you will.

In addition to hearing Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion talk wistfully about Browncoats, the power of a cult following and a pre-Mad Men Christina Hendricks, the panel will also showcase some previously unseen footage from the series. Perhaps there will also be some talk of Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, which counts Firefly stars Fillion and Maher amongst its rather large cast.

So far, no word on whether or not Gina Torres (Zoë Washburne), Summer Glau (River Tam), Jewel Staite (Kaylee Frye) or Morena Baccarin (Inara Serra) will be added to the panel, but chances are an extra chair or two could be found should their schedules suddenly open up.

Along with Firefly, Science Channel is also bringing John Noble of Fringe fame to the Con – in part because the actor is the host of the network’s Dark Matters: Twisted but True series, and also because Fringe repeats will air in syndication on Science starting November 20. Airing reruns of popular programs can be the cable network equivalent of a gateway drug, so with Firefly and soon Fringe in rotation on Science Channel, it may only be a matter of time before Science reveals aspirations of producing original scripted content of their own.

Most notably, though, after Joss Whedon triumphed at the box office with The Avengers – which has now become the third highest-grossing film of all time – he wrote a letter to his fans thanking them for their continued support, and expressed a desire to remain the same Joss everyone had come to be so fond of. Taking part in a panel for a show that has been off the air for nearly a decade certainly goes a long way in proving Whedon to be a man of his word.

Kevin Yeoman blogs at Screen Rant.