In Serenity, Nathan Fillion is back as Malcolm Reynolds (or Mal to his friends), a weary veteran of a galactic civil war who now captains a transport-for-hire spaceship with an eclectic crew of misfits. Set 500 years in the future, the feature film is based on the critically hailed TV series Firefly, a cult hit which was given a death sentence by FOX after only a handful of episodes had aired. Although Fillion is thrilled to be reunited with the director and his close knit family of co-stars in the big budget adaption, the actor also has a more personal reason for revisiting his old Firefly stomping grounds.
    “Adam Baldwin hates when I do this, but I call it vengeance,” reports Fillion. “I wanted my vengeance. Adam had another name, which was much nicer. FOX did a lot for us and if it weren’t for them, I don’t think we would have come as far as we did. Whoever it was who made the decision to cancel us over there, I don’t even think they are still around, but my vengeance would be against that decision. It was a poor decision. That is evident, not only in the fanbase, but Universal’s belief in the film and the excitement over it.”
    Those sentiments are pretty harsh, but then Fillion has always been passionate about the material, even when there was no full script to audition to. “The first thing I read was called a treatment, which was more of a play-by-play since the script hadn’t even been written yet,” recalls Fillion. “I would say there were two subtle moments in the treatment that I thought were great for Malcolm Reynolds. One of them was shooting a horse and the other was a stand-off where a bad guy had a gun to River’s head. Mal rushes in to this Mexican stand-off, draws his gun, shoots the gun in the face, and keeps moving. They took a conventual moment in a gun-slinging show and kicked the piss out of it.”
    When Serenity storms into theatres, Fillion notes that along with the obvious name change, Mal has reverted back to his original roots, making him a little edgier than before. “One of the things that Joss wanted in Firefly was for Malcolm to be this dark person,” he explains. “Joss had license from FOX to do whatever and then of course we made the pilot and they came back and said, ‘Yeah, we want a little more action and Malcolm to be more likeable.’ That was certainly not what Joss had planned but he said, ‘Oh sure, I can do this.” It was either that or no show. Mal became funnier and more likeable, whereas in the movie, he became as dark as he was supposed to be. There are about eight months between the TV series and where it picked up and a couple of things have happened that make Mal a darker, emptier man.”
    Serenity begins with Jayne, Mal, Zoe and River staging a simple robbery when the savage Reavers drop in for some unexpected carnage. Barely escaping with their lives, the digitally-taped escapade puts the Alliance and their henchman The Operative on River’s trail. Naturally, River’s involvement in the botched caper doesn’t sit well with her brother Simon, who in anger, decks Mal.
    “In the eight-month interim between the series and the movie, Malcolm becomes crankier, more impatient, less forgiving… he’s not having a great year,” offers Fillion. “Then you take Simon who seems selfish but is only taking care of his sister. Watching over his sister is his greatest strength and his greatest flaw, because he can’t keep his eyes open to what’s around him.”
    That quarrel is the last straw and, as a result, Mal finally kicks the progressively difficult siblings off the ship. When River suddenly flips out and single-handedly takes down an entire bar of men, including Jayne, Mal has second thoughts and brings them back on board. Yet, considering River has become an increased liability, even Fillion isn’t sure why his character has a change of heart.
    “Why indeed?” He poses. There is nothing where he says ‘Here is why…’ It is something he asks himself. ‘I had an out. I could have left her there.’ Is it because he simply hates the Alliance so much that he won’t let them have River? It is one of those questions you have to decide.”
    Ultimately, his decision makes the crew a target for The Operative, a cunning and dangerous man with fluid combat moves that clearly put him in a league of his own. “Mal and The Operative have two fights,” reveals Fillion. “In the first fight, we learn Malcolm is no match for this guy. The stunt doubles and fight coordinators were excellent. They played to our strengths and Chiwetel Ejiofor had experience in boxing, so they made his fighting style very in sync, efficient, and extremely tough. They said my strength was that I take a punch really well so Mal gets clobbered, clocked and kicked around, which is something I love about Malcolm. He will fight you, but he always gets his ass kicked.”
    With more than bruised egos at stake, the rematch is a bloody blow-for-blow clash that almost leaves neither opponent standing. “The next time they meet up, it’s all or nothing,” states Fillion. “Yeah. (Laughs) It is not like Mal gets any tougher or better at fighting. He still gets his ass kicked, but at least he’s consistent.”
    And if The Operative’s unnerving calmness didn’t frighten the charming Canadian native, the Reavers certainly did. Established in the TV series as a horrific flesh-eating race dwelling on the outer fringes of space, so far the Reavers had only been referenced. Until now.  Playing a pivotal role in Serenity, Fillion admits his initial glimpse of them exceeded all expectations.
    “It sure did!” he confirms. “The first two weeks of filming we were doing all the outdoor stuff. At one point, the Reavers invade a town and they were like everywhere. There were tons of Reavers. You would be sitting down having lunch and across the table would be Reavers. It was unsettling to say the least. It was difficult to eat your lunch the way they looked.”
    After the ship is forced to pass through Reaver territory, the crew learns the horrible origin of these dreaded monsters. “They are scary monsters, all right,” continues Fillion. “I put in my head, ‘How scary can they be when they are just normal people at their worst? (laughs) They did a good job. These are not people you want to have a chance encounter with. The movie doesn’t go into what a Reaver society is like or this is a glimpse inside their ship. No. You don’t get close to Reavers and live. If you are that close, you are dinner.”
    While the bulk of Serenity focuses on the Alliance, their secret agenda, and River, this wouldn’t be a Whedon project without a healthy dose of romantic strife. In Mal’s case, that anguish comes from the rising heat between him and the sensual Inara, the ship’s Companion.
    “I would describe them as star-crossed lovers, two people who, at their core, are perfect for each other,” reflects Fillion. “They are attracted to one another, driven, intelligent and both are very strong. However, there is a fundamental thing that keeps them apart so that Mal can never be close to Inara and that is she’s a Companion. She is high class, legal, accepted in society, and she looks at Mal as a thief. Of the two of them, she is the one in the right yet, morally, Mal cannot be with her.”
    With the movie wrapping up the dangling plot threads from the series, one revelation in particular really struck Fillion. “My favourite scene is where we understand what the Alliance was up to when they were changing River and messing with her head,” he says. “We finally understand what they were after. It all comes out in a smoky bar. I’ve seen the movie twice with an audience and they go crazy! It is extremely exciting and Summer does such amazing work in this movie.”
    Even if cinemagoers are unfamiliar with the series Firefly, Fillion promises Serenity has a lot more to enjoy than other sci-fi franchises. “If people are asking themselves why should I go see this movie, I would say go see it if you like action, clever dialogue, or if Star Wars left you wanting,” he concludes. “And I would say go see Serenity if a network has ever cancelled your favourite show. That is almost reason enough.”