Warren Ellis and Joss Whedon Are Still Working On A Thing
Together At Last
It’s flown under the radar for a while, because of Joss Whedon making himself quite busy with nearly every Marvel comics movie coming out in the next two years, but he and Warren Ellis have a standing agreement to reprise Doctor Horrible‘s internet distribution method on a project called Wastelanders. Says Whedon:
I talked at great length and planned at great length the idea of a portal and putting shows together, having an Internet identity and starting my own little micro-studio. Nobody in town was interested, and then by the time they were, “Avengers” came around. I was and will continue to work on a very, very different Internet mini-thing that I was writing with Warren Ellis, and I have a lot of ideas for things I want to put up there. I still believe it’s a viable financial model, and a creative playground and I miss it.
If you don’t know who Joss Whedon is, he’s the writer/director who gave us Firefly and Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. If you don’t know who Warren Ellis is, he’s the comic book writer who gave us Transmetropolitan, some of the best bits of The Authority, and FreakAngels. So, yeah, a collaboration between the two of them is something we’d pay good money for.
In case you’re wondering, Ellis gave us the rundown on Wastelanders a while back:
WASTELANDERS was being devised as a five-part series that we’d do as “internet television,” in the mode of DR HORRIBLE, only without the singing. Joss was worried about the lack of singing. I’d hoped that directing an episode of GLEE had gotten it out of his system. I wasn’t sure who I’d have to hurt or kill to secure the situation, but we were solid enough with the outline…
I said to him; once you’re on the other side of AVENGERS, email me, and we’ll finish the bastard off. I’ll wait.
So that’s what we’ll do. And that gives me time to terminate anyone whom he might secretly work on musical numbers with…
WASTELANDERS is not, as some people who can’t read have commented, the same as Antony Johnston’s WASTELAND. WASTELANDERS is Joss’ idea and Joss’ title. WASTELANDERS also has no connection to DR HORRIBLE. WASTELANDERS is where Joss’ sense that too few people followed the example of DR HORRIBLE meets my obsession with the QUATERMASS serials, which were half-hour episodes. Short-form genre serials of the kind that tv just doesn’t make anymore. What we eventually came up with was very much a fusion of British and American styles, and very much a fusion of my style and Joss’ style. And full-on science fiction…
WASTELANDERS is sort of a funny horrible story about the end of the world. I look forward to finishing it.
If you don’t know who Joss Whedon is, he’s the writer/director who gave us Firefly and Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. If you don’t know who Warren Ellis is, he’s the comic book writer who gave us Transmetropolitan, some of the best bits of The Authority, and FreakAngels. So, yeah, a collaboration between the two of them is something we’d pay good money for.
(via Warren Ellis Dot Com.)
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
