DR. HORRIBLE Sequel Apparently on the 'Backburner'

When the Whedon brothers, along with actress Maurissa Tancharoen, created the musical web series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog ; they wrote it to be something small and inexpensive, yet professionally done, in a way that would circumvent issues that were protested during the WGA Writer's Strike.

What they probably didn't anticipate was how popular the 2008 web series would become with fans everywhere. So much, in fact, that fans are hoping the story will continue in a much anticipated sequel.

Up until the last few months, word was that Joss Whedon had already starting work on the sequel up until his confirmed involvement with Marvel's Avengers film. Now it's looking like Dr. Horrible 2 is going to be on the back burner for a while longer. Whedon was quoted recently saying, "It's in turnaround... But the sequel still could happen... If we had the time, we really feel like we know what the movie is... We want to do it on our terms but our terms right now are interminable." Whedon also confirmed that they have an idea for it, and that his creative partners have written a few songs, but Whedon, himself, doesn't know when the highly-anticipated sequel will arrive. He also said it may take the form of another web series or even a feature film.

Nathan Fillion has said that he knows the title of the sequel but is unwilling to reveal it at this time.

Neil Patrick Harris says that a possible date for Dr. Horrible 2's principal photography is during the 2011 How I Met Your Mother hiatus. When MTV asked Neil Patrick Harris he stated:

"Apparently they're making a 'Dr. Horrible' sequel — a feature film, I hope. I hope they cast me in it — we'll see. That's their plan. I don't know of what scale. They're talking all options, because they made the first 'Dr. Horrible' in five days on no budget at all — that was its intention. You don't want to necessarily make the feature film be an $80 million giant movie, because it defeats the purpose of what the first film was made to be," he explained. "Then again, you don't want it to be so low-brow that it's not worth paying money to see as a movie."

When pushed further if he knew any details, or what the Whedon brothers and Maurissa Tancharoen had planned for the sequel, he remained ambiguous:

"I don't know what their plans are, but I don't think it will be on the Internet," he added. "I think it will probably be a film. Now we have to figure out everyone's schedules."

On April 3rd, 2010, the fan site Whedonopolis reported that Zack and Jed Whedon did announce to them that they were starting work on the script that afternoon, but no verification was attached to the statement made by the site. Regardless, it appears that fans will have to wait a bit longer for a continuation to the story.

If you haven't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, here's the trailer: