io9: nathan fillion

Exclusive: Nathan Fillion Explains Captain Hammer's Superpowers

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:00:00 PDT

If you watched Joss Whedon's web series Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog, you know all about the sorta dicky good guy Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion). He's got rubber gloves, a t-shirt with a hammer on it, and nebulous powers of . . . something. I mean, we know he's supervillain protagonist Dr. Horrible's nemesis. But we never really see him do much in the way of, say, shooting fireballs or flying. That's why we cornered Fillion at Comic-Con and asked him what Captain Horrible's superpowers actually are. Here's what he said.

He went on to explain — off camera — that he doesn't mind being called Captain Tightpants, either. That was his nickname on the set of space western Firefly, where he played Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a major badass and wearer of tight pants. These day, he admitted to us, he no longer wears tight pants because "my ass would split them." When we asked if that explained why he'd done a nude scene, he said yes — "My pants had just split at the seams so it was the only thing we could do," he said with a winning smile.

Wonder Woman Casts A Long Shadow

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:43:00 PDT

I haven't been terribly excited about the Wonder Woman direct-to-DVD movie, not least because all the art I've seen from it has looked bland and unexciting. But this early version of the Wonder Woman poster, which director Lauren Montgomery posted on her blog, totally works for me. It looks classic and sleek in a way the finished version, with all the weird colors, doesn't. The Wonder Woman DVD movie stars Keri Russell (Waitress) and Nathan Fillion (everything good). Click through to see the full image of the early poster version.

It's Already Too Late To Brace Yourself For Dr. Horrible

Meredith Woerner — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:38:57 PDT

Joss Whedon's cyber-musical, Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog, could arrive as soon as July, before San Diego Comic-Con (July 24th) according to Underwire's quick word with Felicia Day. As we reported, Dr. Horrible is a three-part web series where an ill-adjusted villain tries to win the girl, and acceptance into the League of Evil. Neil Patrick Harris has been cast for the lead singing role of Dr. Horrible, Felicia Day is the lovely lass of the laundromat, and Nathan Fillion plays his nemesis Captain Hammer. "We got this amazing crew," Whedon told SciFi Wire. "Everybody just sort of said, 'We'll just jump on,' and in six days we shot this 36-minute, three-part oddity, which I think is the most fun I've had in about seven years." [Wired Underwireand SciFi Wire]

When Will Joss Whedon's Villanous Cyber-Musical Strike Next?

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:00:07 PDT

Joss Whedon's dance movie may never get to first position, but he's got something much, much better on the way: A serialized online musical, starring Nathan Fillion from Firefly as a musical superhero. Captain Tightpants sings! Click through for details.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog will be a series of three 10-minute webisodes about "a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he's too shy to talk to," Joss revealed on Whedonesque, his fansite. Neil Patrick Harris will play Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion will play Captain Hammer, and Felicia Day will play Penny. Plus "a cast of dozens!"

Joss wrote Dr. Horrible during the writers' strike, with the help of his brothers Jed and Zack, plus Jed's fiancee Maurissa. Even though Joss is now busy prepping Dollhouse (his amnesiac agent show starring Eliza Dushku) with a May start date, and he has many comic book scripts due, he's somehow managed to start shooting on Dr. Horrible as well. No word on when we'll actually get to sing along with Dr. Horrible. But is it terribly wrong that I'm already anticipating this cyber-musical as much as Dollhouse, or maybe even a bit more? [Whedonesque, via SFX and IllusionTV]

My Husband's Alien Sperm Are Controlling Everybody's Brains

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:39:36 PST

There's a good reason why the sleeper hit Slither wormed its way into so many B-movie lovers' hearts when it came out a couple of years ago. Not only is the movie incredibly gross, but it's also a pretty good satire of small-town life and shitty marriages. In this clip, you'll see why. You see, our hero Starla's is stuck in a dead-end marriage with Grant. Then Grant gets infected with space sperm on a hunting trip. Pretty soon, the space sperm have infected everybody's brains, and they're all nagging Starla just the way Grant did. I can't recommend this weird flick enough (it even has Nathan Fillion, who played Captain Mal on Firefly).

Nathan Fillion Spills His Guts

charliejane — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 10:45:08 PST

Mourn Firefly all over again by reading Nathan Fillion's thoughts on playing Captain Mal Reynolds. He talks about Mal's character, including his rancher past and his sense of justice, in this excerpt from the new essay collection Finding Serenity. [USA Today]