Firefly to return as MMO

Just when you thought no power in the 'verse could bring it back, a company called, er, Multiverse is set to take charge of a massively multiplayer game based on Joss Whedon's Firefly.

The TV series, which ended after one season and concluded with the film Serenity, saw Malcolm Reynolds and his rag-tag band of pilot, soldier, mercenary, mechanic, priest, doctor, loony and, well, whore, flirting with trouble as they tried to make their way in a galaxy full of diverse colonies and Western motifs and hidden compartments.

Multiverse co-founder and executive producer Corey Bridges reckons the game will be in a playable state by 2008, although he still has to hire a team to make it - as Multiverse is a platform creator rather than a developer.

Fortunately his plans are faithful to the core values of the show, without trying to make stories out of the original characters. "If you're doing science fiction, you have to really think it out and create an incredibly rich environment that is compelling in its own right, and worth exploring and going back to week after week. That's what Joss Whedon did with Firefly," Bridges told Wired.

"We want to find someone who wants to do something unique and fun and interesting, not just a re-skin of World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies," he added. He is however wearing full body armour - he's not a moronl.