Fox has confirmed that Summer Glau is heading back to work for Firefly/Serenity creator Joss Whedon with a recurring role on Dollhouse.

Whedon told EW in May that he was writing a part for Glau, but he didn't spill any details about her role on the show's upcoming second season. He said he didn't want her to play a "Doll," because that would be too obvious. Now, after a few early reports hit the web, Fox has offered up some details about Glau's connection to the Dollhouse.

Will she be playing a Dollhouse client? An active? A cyborg? ... OK, she's definitely not playing a cyborg this time. (At least we don't think she is.) Head after the jump for the answer.

Today's dose of Whedoncrack comes from the red carpet watchers over at Access Hollywood. They recently caught up with Eliza Dushku at a party and asked her about the upcoming season of Dollhouse, which kicks off Sept. 25 on Fox.

Dushku didn't reveal much we didn't already know – upcoming guest stars will include Jamie Bamber, Keith Carradine and Angel alum Alexis Denisof – but she did play up the fact that season two will be shot entirely on HD, like the unaired thirteenth ep, "Epitaph One." Dushku said the format change makes the show feel more real and less "science fictiony." Video after the jump.

Apollo has landed ... in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. The first (very tiny) promo pics of the season premiere of Dollhouse, "Vows," have popped up online. The pics feature former Battlestar Galactica cast member Jamie Bamber apparently tying the knot with Eliza Dushku's Echo.

The ep follows Echo on her latest engagement as the bride of a wealthy financier who might be involved in arms trafficking. The engagement is set up by do-gooder and former FBI agent Paul, played by Bamber's former Battlestar co-star Tahmoh Penikett, who wants to use the Dollhouse to do some good for the world.

"Epitaph One" didn't air as part of Dollhouse's first season. But fans at the San Diego Comic-Con got to watch it, as do those that plunk down their hard-earned cash for the Season One DVD. But, if you're still on the fence about the show, now you have the opportunity to watch "Epitaph One" to make up your mind via iTunes.

And if you found absolutely anything at all to like about Dollhouse, then you owe it to yourself to check out "Epitaph One." Not only is it by far the best episode of Dollhouse yet, it's one of the best single episode installments of any science fiction premise I've seen; I go on and on like this in my review of "Epitaph One" from a few weeks back.

With the new season gearing up to go soon, this is a brilliant move. "Epitaph One" is one of the best reviewed episodes of the series, and one of the most buzzed about "lost" episodes in quite some time for any series.

Believe it or not, FOX execs Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice did field questions that didn't have the words "Idol" our "Paula" in them. But there weren't many. Here are the highlights:

• When Reilly was asked about the "Save Dollhouse" campaigns out there, he joked, "you mean the campaign that started before we starting making episodes?" He cited the solid cumulative numbers the show put up (which included DVR numbers) as to why it was brought back, and the fact that "the fans were there every week. We were there with Joss, and he delivered." While Whedon "wasn't having a lot of fun" in the first half of the season because of the struggles he and the network had to focus on what the vision of the show would be, in the "second half of year he found his voice on the show and had a lot of fun," according to Reilly.
• On Futurama and the option the show has to do a first run on the network level: The show will "do its run on Comedy Central first and we'll see what happens. If we see a renaissance of that show, sure. It's not out of the question." But right now, there are no talks to air it on Fox.

Hundreds of Joss Whedon fans are expected to take over the small town of LaVergne, TN this weekend for WhedonFest 2009, a celebration of all things Joss Whedon. A fan group called Whedonites United is holding the three-day event in the Tennessee Valley woods. Yes, it's a camping trip (and no, the irony is not lost on us).

The first-ever Whedonfest will offer a number of nerdy activities for Whedon devotees, including role-playing hours, an improv show, and a number of panel discussions, like "The Nature of Identity in Dollhouse," inspired by Whedon's work.

Michael Hogan isn't done with Battlestar Galactica just yet. The actor who played the show's hardest drinking toaster will appear in the upcoming BSG TV movie The Plan, directed by Edward James Olmos. Hogan is sticking with sci-fi for his next two TV outings, a possible recurring role on Syfy's Warehouse 13 and a guest spot on Dollhouse.

Hogan will join former BSG actor and Dollhouse cast member Tahmoh Penikett in a season two episode of Dollhouse. He won't be the only BSG alum guest starring on Dollhouse this year. Jamie Bamber, who played Apollo, will show up in the season premiere, set to air September 25.

Yesterday was cable's last day here in Pasadena, with only a few quotable lines of note (mostly from Omarosa, promoting her new TV One reality show, Life After). The afternoon was full of set visits; first to the Paramount lot to visit Three Rivers and NCIS: Los Angeles, then to Fox to drop by Bones and Dollhouse.

Of course, the last one is probably the one of most interest to the Squad's readership. And that's something Joss Whedon emphasized as he appeared first solo, then with the cast; despite the show's dismal Nielsen numbers, its "non-traditional" numbers -- DVR, online, etc. -- were enough to get the show renewed.

Still, Joss was astounded to be in front of us on that set again: "Welcome back to the biggest surprise of my career: our season two."

More on the panel, including the impact of "Epitaph One" on the second season, after the jump.

(S01E13) This episode of Dollhouse never actually aired on Fox, and in fact, it's not going to. I'm not sure why, though, because I thought it was fantastic. Yes, it was a dramatic departure from what had gone before, but despite its unique presentation, it offered some amazing insight into the world of Whedon's Dollhouse, and its future.

"Epitaph One" will be available on the Dollhouse: Season One DVD, available July 28, 2009. It was also screened this past weekend at Comic-Con. Even though I wasn't there, I did manage to get my hands on it, so join me, if you will, for a very spoilery look at the true season finale of Dollhouse.

Just a few short months ago, you wouldn't have thought that Joss Whedon's Dollhouse would have a presence at 2009's Comic-Con International. The show seemed on the brink of oblivion right up until its renewal for a second season.

Whedon and Dushku appeared at a press conference Friday to discuss the future and recent past of Dollhouse as it prepares for its new season this September.

The panel for the fans was built around a new, second pilot for the show, "Epitaph One." The story darkens the show and reveals Dushku's character in a new and very special light. (It's too late in the dead of night for spoilers, so more on this later.)

Maybe Fox's decision not to air "Epitaph One," the final episode of Dollhouse's first season, was a good one. Good for Fox, I mean.

The unaired ep, which will show up on the first season DVD/Bu-ray sets and screen at Comic-Con, is bringing a lot of attention to the Joss Whedon show this summer. Judging by the reaction to a clip released earlier this week, I'm sure Fox won't have any trouble moving those DVDs.

The clip, our first bit of WhedonCrack in months, featured a dazed and confused Dr. Saunders/Whiskey surrounded by a group of armed rebels in what appears to be the future. Is it a dream? Is it a flash forward? We'll have to wait for the DVD to drop July 28 to find out.

It seems like everyone has an opinion about whether or not Dollhouse will survive its second season on Fox. Our own Brad Trechak is certain the show will be dead before the end of the year. Io9 has a more hopeful prognosis for the show's future. They say we might even be in for a surprisingly stable year for the show.

I'm not willing to go that far, but I'm hopeful that season two of Dollhouse will deliver more of the quirky and engaging storytelling Joss Whedon fans have come to love and expect instead of the dull "case of the week" plots that almost sunk season one. Last May's weird and wonderful game-changing season finale only left me wanting more -- more mythology, more mystery and more witty and subversive dialogue. Whedon is writing and directing the season two opener, now set to premiere Sept. 25. Hopefully, that means he's setting the tone for a more imaginative and interesting season of Dollhouse.

Way back in April we reported that Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters, creators of The CW's Reaper, had signed a deal with 20th Century Fox and would most likely be leaving Reaper behind. Now that The CW has officially canceled Reaper to make room for its upcoming slate of bubblegum teen TV, Fazekas and Butters are joining the writing staff of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. The Reaper duo will begin their Dollhouse stint in season two, which kicks off Friday, Sept. 18 on Fox.

I have mixed feelings about this news. I'm glad that Dollhouse nabbed these two obviously talented and funny writers, but I'm still bummed about Reaper's cancellation. And while this might mean that Dollhouse will deliver more smart, nerdy comedy in season two, that Friday night death slot still has me worried.

Fox has given the release date for the premiere of Dollhouse, as well as their new musical comedy Glee and several other shows. However, I wanted to focus on Dollhouse for a moment.

Once again sitting in the Friday night Death Slot of 9 PM, this time it doesn't even have a lead-in of another sci-fi drama. This time, starting September 18, the lead is 'Til Death starring Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher.

The only reasonable hypothesis I can reasonably come up with is that Fox wants to broadcast all thirteen episodes of season 2 during the 2009 calendar year before they finally pull the plug on this show. This would mean that the entire run of Dollhouse would have been during 2009.

In short, if you really want the show to make it to a third season, I recommend buying a hundred copies per household member of the DVD set for season one. Otherwise, I don't see it happening.

I'm glad that in this interview, Joss Whedon says that he and the team "really understand Dollhouse now. We understand what works, and what didn't work so well." I do wish he'd figured it all out from the beginning, as it would have saved him the situation he's in now. Off to a very shaky start last season, Dollhouse barely eked out a renewal.

The main problem is that it took about half of that short season for the show to find its voice and become something I was really invested in. So now Whedon needs to find a way for his show to "break out" in its second year, or I fear that Dollhouse will go the way of recent second season fails (not in quality, but in ability to make a third) like Pushing Daisies, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and the most famous of all, Jericho. That core passionate following is great to have, but you need to grow your audience to make it to three.