I have a suspicion that that line has entered into tropes territory so it's possible to know the line and not the show. It probably wasn't even original in Blake's 7.
Regardless of whether or not Whedon was on board to do a reboot it wouldn't work. Firefly was only so successful because of a combination of great writing and a great cast with incredible chemistry. The chances of recreating that cast chemistry again are ridiculously low.
I had very little knowledge of the TV series or the film, until I saw an interview that featured Paul Darrow. In it, he commented that if BLAKE'S 7 were still being made, it would be just like FIREFLY. That was enough of a recommendation for me. I owned both the film and the TV series within 24 hours.
I hadn't seen that interview when I first started watching, but my first thought after seeing a couple of episodes was that it was a spiritual successor to Blake's 7. I still find it hard to believe that Joss Whedon had not seen Blake's 7 when he conceived the idea for Firefly.
Even if the movie hadn't made such significant changes, too much time has passed for the original cast anyway. 5 years after it finished it would have been ok. 15 years later they've aged too much to continue the story without a significant time jump, which I wouldn't want. Personally, I'd be happy if the stories continued in an expanded universe of novels, but I doubt there's a big enough audience for that.
What he says and what the actual truth is may not be one and the same thing.
Provided they can give a reasonable explanation, I have no problem with a time jump.
And the black woman who was proficient with weapons and various forms of combat didn't raise an eyebrow?And the fact that a crewmember is called Kaylee (Cally) always made me raise a suspicious eyebrow too!
