The Return Of "Dr. Horrible"
Faith D’Isa ‘17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
It’s been a long time coming (and still will be)–but according to Jed Whedon in a talk with Entertainment Weekly as a part of their issue on the odds of fan favorite television shows returning, there will be a sequel to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog.
If you haven’t heard of it, Dr. Horrible was a musical miniseries, presented in three acts that was conceived by Joss Whedon amidst the 2007/2008 Writers Guild of America Strike in an attempt to continue creating material without getting involved in the issues of the strike. What resulted was the web musical, created with help from family, friends and past collaborators with Joss–including his brother Jed, who wrote the songs.
Dr. Horrible centered on the eponymous, misunderstood villain, portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris, and his quest to use his powers and inventions to stop the corruption in his city and win over the love of his life from the laundromat, Penny (Felicia Day). In doing so, he inadvertently causes Penny to meet and fall for his arch-nemesis, the superhero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion). With a small but colorful cast, the 42 minute miniseries was released online to both fan and critical acclaim.
It was Whedon’s first attempt at completely calling all the shots, financing the entire project from his own pocket. Unlike anything seen before, Dr. Horrible was shot in varying styles from the different characters’ points of view, as well as Dr. Horrible’s webcam; and encapsulates both the comic book style, while using Whedon’s signature tragicomedic style.
And yet, because of its insane popularity, the fans demanded more.
None of the stars have objected and all completely willing to be a part of a sequel should the opportunity present itself. But as Jed Whedon states, with Joss’ involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Harris, Fillion, and Day’s busy schedules, as well as commitments from the other writers, it’s very difficult to get everyone together to make Dr. Horrible 2 happen. Plus, the team isn’t in a hurry; Whedon has previously stated that he’s willing to wait to get the whole team together rather than rush it.
Jed Whedon’s statement to Entertainment Weekly is as follows:
“We know we have spoken publicly about a sequel in the near distance and our passion to create it, and I promise we have not been insincere. Horrible is still one of our favorite creations by humans who were also us. We have many songs written and the plot outlined, but needless to say, we’ve been busy. Joss has had a hectic couple of years and is in the middle of the busiest year of his life, as is Zack and as are we. Also the actors have other things they’re acting in, I think. So the future is uncertain, our passion remains. DH2 will exist, in some format or another, at some point in the future. Unfortunately, the when is still unclear.”
So there it is–confirmation of a sequel. But Jed’s words leave information to be desired; what does “in some format or another” mean? What is this plot that they have written out? And–of course–the most obvious…When?