Serenity premiered last night in LA, so we're guessing that Joss Whedon is sleeping late this morning, secure in the knowledge that his cancelled sci-fi TV show has been well and truly launched on the big screen. But when he does finally emerge for his morning cup of coffee, it will be to start work on yet another new project, called Goner, which he has written and is set to direct.
The film's plot is still under wraps at the moment, but it's said to be a fantasy thriller that may have some supernatural, Buffy-or-Angel type elements. Whedon himself is quoted in Variety as saying, "It's the story of a young woman's journey, that involves a great deal of horror and some heroics".
No more specifics on the plot, but Whedon did go on to talk about the tone. "It’s certainly darker than Serenity, and there are a lot of left turns along the way. It is something I had in mind for a while, and it just poured out of me when I finished my film."
So where does this fit in with his other proposed film, Wonder Woman? Well, he's still down to write and direct that, but since he's writing that script from scratch it may come after Goner. He did talk about the film a little though.
"I was given licence to purely make it my own and yet she is already an iconic Amazon princess. Goner has some similarities, but the heroines could not be more different, and the story is a bit more intimate and less complicated than Wonder Woman."
Darker than Serenity? With twists and turns along the way? From Joss Whedon? Who, incidentally, is clearly a man who can write strong female characters - the finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is possibly the most strongly feminist message ever in a TV programme. We'll keep you up to date as we learn more about this…