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The Matrix: Released 22 March 1999
Star Wars I: Released 19 May 1999

Serenity: To be released 22 April 2005
Star Wars III: To be released 19 May 2005

( Excerpt from http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/564/564677p4.html, full article starts here: http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/564/564677p1.html. )

Serenity's is [sic] firmly slated for release in April of 2005, just a few weeks shy of Star Wars: Episode III. Whedon and crew hope that the slot will get a boost from the eager sci-fi crowd. "It's exactly where I want to be," Whedon says. "We call it the Matrix slot, as opposed to the death slot, which is what the show had. It's a spring movie. It was always a spring movie… I can't compete with the $200 million movies… It's a smaller film. It's like the crew itself, its a little run and gun, it's a little bit underdog… It's that time when people are getting ready. They've got that anticipation, they're excited to get into the summer and be disappointed over and over. (Laughs) I mean, and see the big movies, but it's not going to be swamped by them. So I'm just absolutely thrilled. To me, it's another huge vote of confidence from the studio."

Whedon sees himself, not only as the director, but as a fan. He knows and understands that making a great film is a tricky thing, and that fans like himself are let down more often than not. "I think the way they do. And I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that the funny parts are funny, the scary parts are scary and the exciting parts are exciting and it all gels and becomes something greater than the sum of its parts. We could fail. I'm not going to come out and say, 'I've reinvented film. This will be Citizen Kane? Bah. This is a real film!' (Laughs) I'm just trying to make a good movie that actually means something and that is entertaining enough for people not to realize that. I'm perfectly well aware that I can fail. Every time I go into the editing room and look at the footage, I go, 'Oh, look at that failure. Cover it up, will you? Cut to something that's less fail-y.' How will I react [if the film doesn't succeed]? I'll be devastated, but I believe, as I always have, that if I respond to what's there, others will too."