Why did whedon kill wash

Serenity was released in as a continuation and proper closure to Firefly , and it brought back the main cast. Serenity takes place after the events of the final episode of the series, continuing the efforts of the crew to run away from the Alliance and keep themselves safe. After Wash piloted the ship through the crossfire in a battle between the Reavers and the Alliance, he crashed near the broadcast tower and was impaled by a Reaver spear, instantly dying.

This quote had a long-lasting effect on the Firefly fandom, and it can be found on various products related to the series and the movie. I did go see it at the cinema and I absolutely loved it! That much so I had to get the series on dvd and I loved it also. It had so much potential and wish the story could have continued.

Stupid question but why in the world would the movie only get greenlit if Book and Wash couldn't be in the possible sequel? It wouldn't have been a problem if they'd signed to do more movies from the outset, but it's likely the studio didn't want to paint themselves into a corner: If the film was a hit, those two actors could negotiate much bigger pay for the sequels, making the whole endeavour less attractive to the studio.

By killing them off, it meant a sequel could be made with or without the actors, putting the studio into a much stronger position when it came to negotiating with them. Remember: We're talking millions here. If the film was a huge success and everyone wanting a sequel expected to see Book and Wash, their agent could demand anything they wanted.

The audience in would have been extremely upset, damaging ticket sales. As the entire project was risky, I imagine the only way the studio could justify such a long shot was if they could say that it could pay off several times over if the first film did well.

That's my guess, anyway. All we know for sure is that it did. I am now puzzled why the actors portraying Wash and Book wouldn't sign a contract agreeing to appear in a sequel. I like the performances from both of them but have trouble thinking their schedules were too busy for a sequel if it blew up into Star Wars part II.

Actors often get advice not to be locked into something. Tudyk might have had to turn down bigger roles if they decided to make a sequel -- also there's no guarantee they would have waited for Star Wars money to green light a sequel. It's just business. They did what was best for them. I saw the movie before I ever watched the series. From my point of view, the problem was that it drops the viewer into a world they aren't familiar with, when a lot of the enjoyment really comes from context.

That point was really made clear to me as I just watched the series for a second time and capped it off by rewatching the movie. The movie works so much better as a finale to the series! Otherwise there is so much nuance and character interaction that you don't get. I remember watching the movie the first time thinking, "who are these guys?

Why are they speaking Chinese? What's up with this girl who is meek and vulnerable one moment and then kicking ass the next? So basically, it works great when you are already a fan, but if you are new to the series ostensibly the target audience , it isn't as much of a hook as it needed to be. Also, I hated that Wash died, and I agree that it was pointless.

I'm not a fan of that, and it was a negative point for me as well as the other viewers. The first time I saw this movie was way before I heard of the tv show and a lot of the scenes confused me but now I watched it and came back to the movie to watch it again and it all made sense. I was so sad to hear that the show was not saved by the movie. I completely disagree with everyone who says Wash's death was pointless.

Far from it, in my mind. After Wash dies, Simon gets shot, Zoe is wounded, Reavers are closing in, and Mal is fighting an opponent we've seen him be completely ineffectual against earlier. Wash's death meant that I seriously thought they might all die. Generally in movies, despite the danger, you know that the good guys will prevail and all will be well.

In Serenity, for the first time I can remember, I thought Joss might have the message get out, but the crew all sacrifice themselves to make it happen. That doubt, fear and uncertainty made the climax of the movie incredibly intense for me. And that was because Wash died. I say "Well done" to Joss Whedon. Re: The Reavers - I think the fact that everyone is scared and the fact that Mal, the good guy, kills someone just to spare them from having to die at Rever hands, sets the tone of fear.

Re: The bar fight - people are trying to escape, and almost every bar fight in every western this is, after all, a space western has one punch escalating into an all-out brawl. The fact that there's a badass killing machine there is probably why everyone is going after her instead of each other.

But, it's a bar. In a western. Fleeing isn't really what's expected, is it? Re: The ending - I think the down ending is the point But the heroes still "won" in the overall sense, the same as in SW or the Matrix, both of which the larger impact was also felt by unknown masses. It's just not a traditional happy ending I saw the movie first. Rented it. Yes, back when there were places that did that. Was so damned intrigued, I researched it and found out there was a series!! Active 9 years ago.

Viewed 16k times. Improve this question. Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE. Have you ever seen anything else Whedon created? He almost always kills off major characters. It's part of his writing style.

BBlake: I haven't no, so thanks for the info. I'm puzzled why this is attracting downvotes, so comments are welcome. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. About Wash specifically, Whedon himself said: Dramatically, the more I worked on [the screenplay], the more it became clear that in order to make people feel that this was real, a certain shocking thing is going to have to happen.

Improve this answer. Michael Borgwardt Michael Borgwardt Quiet a few TV show do kill major characters: Babylon 5 for example. But I agree with you that they rarely kill protagonists. To the viewer, he may seem like a powerless kid, one forced to endure the violence taking place in the next room. The real Baker Dill died while on duty in Iraq. Serenity explains that Patrick was let off from his crime and could recode Plymouth Island to include an avatar of himself.

This way, he could visit his father in the game world. After Wash piloted the ship through the crossfire in a battle between the Reavers and the Alliance, he crashed near the broadcast tower and was impaled by a Reaver spear, instantly dying. It is unknown if the deleted scene can be considered canon or not. After the war, Mal acquired his own ship, a derelict K64 Firefly-class transport. Fans have wanted Firefly season 2 or a Serenity sequel for years. Serenity is a sequel movie that was made to tie up the loose-ends after the abrupt ending of Firefly after just one season.

So start with Firefly first and then watch Serenity. There are also a few comics that were introduced to provide a back story for the main characters — just to lend some depth to the show.