We’re going to go out on a limb here and say… yes. Maybe. Hopefully! .

Why would we cruelly tease such a notion? Well it all starts with today’s announcement via The Hollywood Reporter that the entire FIREFLY crew, in addition to the show’s creator Joss Whedon, will be reuniting in July for an hour-long panel at San Diego Comic-Con to celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary. And its 9th year off the air.

US network Science Channel, who are sponsoring the panel (they currently air repeats of the show) promise “numerous buzz-worthy surprises”.

Could one of these be the announcement of further shiny adventures for Captain Tightpants and his crew? Maybe. Hopefully!

See, we know Whedon and co are no strangers to the Con, but to set up one of these panels costs a small fortune and are therefore exclusively put together to pimp a product. And with DVDs and Blu-rays of both FIREFLY and SERENITY already long bled-dry, what’s really left for Whedon to promote? Zip.

Unless… has a deal with 20th Century Fox (current rights owners) and the Science Channel been struck for new episodes? It’s no secret that Whedon would love to get the show back into production, samsies for every one of the actors involved. And now the Whedon-helmed AVENGERS ASSEMBLE has grossed over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office (with more cash to come once it drops on DVD/Blu), the writer/director/all-round-genius is carrying some serrrrious clout around Hollywood for the first time in his long career. (Try shit-canning one of his projects now, we dare you!)

It’s of course wishful thinking on our part, but we can but dream. In the meantime, we’re preparing ourselves for July 13th to either be the best day of our lives, or, if it turns out the “buzz-worthy surprise” is just the announcement of Special Edition Blu-ray sets… actually, that’d be pretty cool too.

Thoughts? Share ’em in the Comments section or on Twitter @Starburst_Mag