Loot Crate Takes Us to Firefly’s Jaynestown

If I had written this a few months ago I would have said something like, “It’ll take a miracle to get Firefly back on the big or small screen.” That was a couple of months ago, this is today. As the great, American poet Robert Dylan once said, “The times they are a changin.”

A few weeks ago  ABC decided to give the old ax to Castle. Why? Some sources cite Fillion and Stana Katic’s  tense on-set relationship. Other reports cite salary was a deal breaker and the overall cost of the show and even some reports say ABC canceled the show simply because the low ratings didn’t warrant a renewal.

We may never know the real reason, but a cancellation means Nathan Fillion has some free time. Sure, he’s been cast to play Simon Williams (aka Wonder Man for the non-Marvel comic book readers out there) in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. No report of how big Fillion’s role will be, but a Firefly movie could be realistically squeezed in between GoG 3 and 4 and the umpteen Marvel movies in Fillion’s contract.

Mal’s will-they-or-won’t-they object of desire Moena Baccarin is a little busier than when Firefly was first on the air. Baccarin now stars as Leslie Thompkins on Fox’s hit series Gotham. She also appeared opposite Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool (I know, comic book fans, how can she be a doctor in the DC Universe and hottie strip club bartender in the Marvel Universe? It’s enough to make your head spin. Next thing you know you’re going to tell me is Captain America and Johnny Storm are the same person). Filming Gotham and Deadpool 2,3, and 4 may leave little time for a Firefly movie in her schedule, but if she gets as much screen time in all the sequels as she did in the first Deadpool there could be time to fit in a Firefly movie.

Gina Torres was excellent in Hannibal, opposite real-life husband Laurence Fishburne, and she’s been going strong in Suits. However, with a season seven renewal iffy and season eight even iffy-er there may be a large gap in her work schedule. Torres is too awesome to be unemployed. Let’s get her in a Firefly movie!

Personally, my favorite character was Shepherd Book, played by Ron Glass. Book was always the more centered voice in the group. He tried to keep Mal on the straight and narrow, the path of holy righteousness. Based on Glass’s IMDB page he’s a pretty busy actor. As luck would have it all the projects listed are single episodes. Single episodes mean Glass should have some time to do a Firefly movie.

After Firefly was canceled Summer Glau went on to appear in some outstanding series. She was the terminator Cameron Phillips in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Later, she was in The 4400, The Unit, and the very underrated Knights of Badassdom. Now, Glau has a little more time on her hands. Firefly wouldn’t be Firefly without its resident bad ass.

You can’t have Firefly without everyone’s favorite mechanic, Kaylee Frye. Jewel Staite’s IMDB page is pretty impressive. However, I’m not going to pretend I’ve kept up with her or Sean Maher’s careers since Firefly ended. That’s not to say they’re not talented actors. It just means they haven’t appeared in anything that’s in my wheelhouse. What would change things is another Firefly movie.

We all know the actors who made up the core Firefly cast. That wasn’t necessarily the case when the first episode aired. Other than Ron Glass, Adam Baldwin was the most recognizable face in the cast. Most people remembered him as Animal Mother in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, but he’s been acting non-stop since he played the misunderstood Linderman in My Bodyguard (1980). Now he can be seen saving humanity from a killer virus on The Last Ship. I have no idea how or why, but The Last Ship was renewed for a third season. Honestly, that’s great for Adam Baldwin. Unemployment sucks.

The biggest piece of the puzzle is the creator, Joss Whedon. Recently, Whedon announced he wouldn’t be directing another Avengers movie (Don’t worry, kids, Avengers 3 will still break box office records) because of the time involved in directing a Marvel movie. His next project is a comic book. Not to downplay or insult comic books  (I’ll leave the insults for comic book movies), but working on a comic book won’t occupy every moment of Whedon’s working day. There’s bound to be time to work on a Firefly movie between writing comic book pages.

Until the movie is announced, let’s take a look at this month’s Firefly box.

The first item out of the box is the pin. It seems every toy subscription box has a pin included inside. Some are the old school style stick pins, others are metal pins with a backer. The Firefly pin is Jayne’s rifle with this month’s theme,“Let’s be bad guys,” in front. Unlike other pins, the Loot Crate pins don’t have the logo anywhere on it to detract from the design. This pin will get noticed whether it’s on a jacket or the lapel of your dinner coat.(Pin: A)

If you don’t have anything to barter with in Canton you’d better have coin. Not any coin will do in this mud town. You’ll need Jayne’s coin. In my geek-fantasy world, I imagine the good citizens took the gold Jayne dumped on them and forged these beautiful coins. Jayne’s portrait is embossed on one side and his monument is on the other side. The details, “In Jayne we trust” and “The Hero of Canton,” rivals any coin produced by the Franklin Mint. Like those fancier coins, the Jayne coin has been hermetically sealed to preserve the coin. Okay, I don’t know if that’s true or not. I do know that I wasn’t going to try and break the plastic case. Leave it in the case, you’ll get more compliments than your misprinted Kennedy half dollar. (Coin: A+)

Jayne wore a lot of different t-shirts during the first season of Firefly. All of them were very interesting to say the least. The burnt-orange (Or as I like to call it: Thank God it’s not black) t-shirt has a Japanese Kanji inspired character in the  background with a fish in the foreground. Along with the obvious Old West inspiration, Firefly always had an Eastern/Asia fuse to it. The t-shirt fits the vibe. The cut of the shirt is also accurate. If you only wanted the t-shirt you should be safe buying your exact size on eBay or other outlets. I can’t comment on if it will shrink in the wash because I haven’t washed it yet. However, other t-shirts included in the Loot Crate boxes have held up after repeated washings (And now I can work for Maytag, too). (T-shirt: A)

It’s not all Jayne in the Bad Guy’s box. This month’s Qbit is either a Kaylee figure or a Shepard Book. I was hoping for Shepard Book but got Kaylee. As the name implies the Kaylee figure is small, but it packs quite a punch. The figure, with its large head and small body, has an anime feel to it. The teddy bear on the pant leg stands out more than anything else. As weird as it may sound the base is what I appreciate most about the figure. There are a lot of figures, some are in my collection, whose bases aren’t made correctly. The pegs are either too wide apart or too close together for the figure to stand on. This is not the problem with the Kaylee Qbit. It will stay standing on the base so you can display it anywhere you want. (Qbit: A)

Oh, that Mudder’s Milk. You’ll want to take it everywhere you go. But what to put that sweet, sweet milk in? Why not this hip flask? Never mind it says “Jayne Cobb’s Thrilling Heroics Rum” on the side. The overall effect of the artwork on the flask is a representation of an ad for Jayne’s rum. It works even if Jayne never sold rum. I’m sure there would have been some Jayne rum if there had been at  least one more season of Firefly. The top is connected to an arm so you don’t lose it after drinking too much Mudder’s Milk. I don’t know why more flasks aren’t made with this feature. Seriously, it’s a nice flask. (Flask: A+)

The final piece of the box is the best piece of the box. I wasn’t aware of QMX products before they started appearing in some of the toy subscription boxes.  I’ve been really impressed with what Quantum Mechanix has produced. The Jayne Cobb figure is spot on. If you had only been exposed to Adam Baldwin through The Last Ship you would know it was Baldwin. You may wonder why he’s wearing a knit cap, but you would know who it is. The details, from the wrinkles in the pants to the parts of the gun, are exquisite. The figure it easily one of the best to appear in a subscription box. If you didn’t like anything else in the box except for the Jayne figure it would still be money well spent. (Jayne Cobb: A+)

Most of the movie information for the actors and their upcoming projects was based on searching through IMDB and the internet. In theory, all the pieces are in place for  a Firefly movie. It’s just a theory. I think, for the time being, we’ll have to be happy with  Loot Crate’s Firefly box. It’s a great box with outstanding items inside. It should tide Firefly fans over until a movie can be made.

What did you think of this month’s Firefly box?Let us know on Twitter (@Amindonfire) or on Facebook.