Malcolm Reynolds
The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. (July 2023) |
Malcolm Reynolds | |
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"Saffron" | |
Relatives | Maude Reynolds (mother) |
Homeworld | Shadow |
Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a fictional character and the
Production details
Conceived by Joss Whedon, the character Malcolm Reynolds was the only definite character he had in mind when formulating the ensemble cast. He wanted a hero, but not a hero in the classic sense; someone that is "everything that a hero is not."[2]
In the proposed pilot, Mal was much darker and considerably more closed-off. Fox network executives objected, and asked that Mal be "lightened up". For the second episode ("The Train Job"), Whedon created a more "jolly" Mal Reynolds.[3]
Fillion shares his view on the motivations of the character he portrayed. Mal has lost so much that each character in the crew he has gathered on Serenity represents an aspect of himself he no longer has. "In Wash, he has a lust for life and a sense of humor he's lost. In Jayne, he has selfishness. In Book, he has spirituality. In Kaylee, he has innocence. Everybody represents a facet of himself that he has lost and that's why he keeps them close and safe, and yet at arm's length."[4]
Casting
The role was originally written for however, the shooting schedule conflicted with his commitment to Buffy.
Whedon approached Nathan Fillion to play the lead, and after explaining the premise and showing Fillion the treatment for the pilot, Fillion was eager for the role.[6] Fillion was called back several times to read for the part before he was cast. He noted that "It was really thrilling. It was my first lead and I was pretty nervous, but I really wanted that part and I wanted to tell those stories."[4]
Costume design
Los Angeles prop shop Applied Effects was approached by Randy Erikson to create Mal's main gun, a "Moses Brothers Self-Defense Engine Frontier Model B",[7] and gave them a week and a half. Erikson provided a foamcore conceptual mockup and the base guns, one of which was a five-shot .38 caliber Taurus Model 85 revolver. Erikson researched American Civil War-era revolvers for inspiration and the final mockup had a brass or bronze look, with the revolver a little elongated. The biggest challenge was masking the shape of the original revolver and still keeping it operable.[8]
On the TV series Firefly, a cast
GBB Custom Gunleather was tasked with creating Mal's gun holster, which was made out of oak-tanned carving leather.
Character biography
Malcolm's main mission is to keep his crew alive and to keep his ship flying. As Firefly writer Tim Minear stated in an interview: "It's just about getting by. That's always been the mission statement of what the show is — getting by."[13] In Serenity, Mal says of himself: "[If the] Wind blows Northerly, I go North."[14]
Mal was raised by his mother and "about 40 hands" on a ranch on the planet Shadow.[15] Though Mal usually seems more practical than intellectual, he occasionally surprises his friends by displaying familiarity with disparate literature varying from the works of Xiang Yu[16] to poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.[14]
Mal volunteered for the
After the war, Mal acquired his own ship, a derelict 03-K64 Firefly-class transport. Mal named the ship Serenity after the Battle of Serenity Valley, the decisive battle of the Unification War.
Reception
Fillion won the "Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award — Male" award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA for his role as Malcolm Reynolds. Fillion also won the
The character was named #18 in TV Guide's "Greatest Sci-fi legends" list in 2004.[1] In 2008, Empire ranked Mal as #34 on their list of the 100 Greatest Movie Characters.[18] In 2011, SFX Magazine voted Mal Reynolds #1 on their Top 100 Sci-Fi icons of the century.[volume & issue needed]
In her review of the film Serenity for The New York Times, Manohla Dargis had this to say about the character and Nathan Fillion: "Mal is no Neo redux; he's closer to Indiana Jones, if absent Harrison Ford's rakishly handsome looks and star magnetism. Like the rest of the cast, Mr. Fillion is a charming performer, but he borrows rather than owns the screen, which dovetails with Mr. Whedon's modest aspirations for this film."[19]
Notes
- ^ a b Simon (July 27, 2004). "Captain Mal Reynolds features in '25 Greatest Sci-fi legends' list". Whedonesque.com. Retrieved July 16, 2006.
- ^ "The 10 Greatest Anti-Heroes: #5 Malcolm Reynolds". Paste. March 17, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- ^ Whedon, Train Job: Director's Commentary, Track 1
- ^ a b Whedon, Firefly Companion, Vol 1, p.26.
- better source needed]
- ^ "Interview with Nathan Fillion — Dreamwatch Magazine 107". Whedon.info. September 9, 2003. Retrieved July 11, 2006.
- ^ Scifi.com. Archived from the originalon November 30, 2007.
- ^ Whedon, Firefly Companion, Vol 1, pp.79-80.
- ^ a b "The Metal Mal Hero Pistol Replica". Quantummechanix.com. September 30, 2007. Archived from the original on December 10, 2007.
- ^ Whedon, Firefly Companion, Vol 1, p.81.
- ^ Whedon, Firefly Companion, Vol 1, p.83.
- ^ "The Malcolm Reynolds Browncoat Replica". AbbyShot Blog. November 2, 2009.
- ^ O'Hare, Kate (October 31, 2002). "Fox's 'Firefly' Keeps the Lights On". Zap2it.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2006.
- ^ a b Whedon, Serenity, DVD.
- ^ Whedon, Firefly: The Complete Series: "Our Mrs. Reynolds"
- ^ Whedon, Firefly: The Complete Series: "War Stories"
- ^ "SyfyPortal Awards". Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2006.
- ^ "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters". Empire. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (September 30, 2005). "Scruffy Space Cowboys Fighting Their Failings". The New York Times.
References
- Whedon, Joss (2006). Firefly: The Official Visual Companion, Volume 1. UK: Titan Books. ISBN 1-84576-314-9.
- Whedon, Joss (2005). Serenity: The Official Visual Companion. UK: Titan Books. ISBN 1-84576-082-4.
- Whedon, Joss (December 9, 2003). The Complete Series: Commentary for "Serenity" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- Firefly (The Series) (DVD). 20th Century Fox. December 9, 2003.