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Joss Whedon and Neil Patrick Harris working on musical

Writer: Sean Gandert
News, Published online on 19 Mar 2008

As far as unintended consequences of the WGA strike go, this one has got to be one of the more surprising. While telling AICN about the possibilities of his own Harold and Kumar spin-off (Incidentally, is it Doogie Week on PasteMagazine.com, or what?), Neil Patrick Harris mentioned that he was working on, "a web short film that Joss Whedon is directing and wrote called Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog." That's a musical about super villains and crossing my fingers for the next round of Dancing With The Stars. (long pause) No..." This sounds like a joke, and was taken as such by everyone in the room. But was it?

The comment prompted the rabid fans at Whedonesque to go through a round of speculation until Whedon himself offered up more concrete information about the project. "The bag is catless," the Buffy television series creator said. "During the strike I started writing a musical intended as a limited internet series, 3 episodes of approximately 10 minutes each. Writing with me was my brother Jed, his fiancee Maurissa, and my other brother Zack. To my shock and surprise, we finished it. To my greater shock and surprise, we managed (with the help of many people I'll be praising at length soon) to drag it into preproduction (yes, just as Dollhouse was given a start date two months away and all my comics were due.) And today, after a grueling week of writing everything ever while trying to be a producer, I got to start shooting. A musical.

"This much I will say: It's the story of 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. And I'm having the time of my life."

Whedon also offered a bit more casting info for the film, listing:

"'DOCTOR HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG'

Neil Patrick Harris.....as Dr. Horrible
Nathan Fillion..........as Captain Hammer
Felicia Day.............as Penny

And a cast of Dozens!"

So not only will the series of musical shorts feature Harris, but also Whedon's old pal Nathan Fillion. No information is yet known about when or where this will be available, but the series' name alone is already one of the most creative things announced this year.

Thanks to Cinematical for the tip!

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Joss Whedon and Neil Patrick Harris working on musical

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