A new "Buffy" movie is in the works... but it's not what you might think
According to The Hollywood Reporter, there's a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie in development. But don't jump up and down just yet, Joss Whedon fans. The article says that Whedon is not involved, and this movie "would have no connection to the TV series, nor would it use popular supporting characters like Angel, Willow, Xander or Spike. [Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment and original movie director Fran Rubel Kuzui and her husband, Kaz Kuzui,] are looking to restart the story line without trampling on the beloved existing universe created by Whedon." The article adds this caveat, which sounds like a way to quell the expected uproar: "The producers do not rule out Whedon's involvement but have not yet reached out to him." There are also hopeful references to the new Star Trek, which successfully rebooted a favorite franchise, but it seems to me that a Joss-less Buffy, without some Abrams-level firepower attached to it, would face a major uphill climb, or even outright hostility. --David
Mark on May 26, 2009 at 11:47 PM
I'm stating this right off the bat: some may think I'm being close-minded or unfair, but I do NOT care--it's sacreligious enough to create a new BTVS without Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, but no Joss Whedon????? I THINK NOT. I MIGHT be tempted to go to the theater to see a different actress portray Ms. Summers, but if the story is not firmly connected to Mr. Whedon's brain, it'll wait for TV. There's a whole mythology here, a universe that needs direction from it's "deity"--J.W. (and his minions--gotta love that word; that, and acolyte~~~haven't heard those since BTVS!!!!)
asdsa on May 27, 2009 at 01:23 AM
dasdsadasdasd
Brent Michhael Krupp on May 27, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Though Whedon was too diplomatic to say it outright, on one of the commentary tracks for an early season Buffy (wish I could remember which one) he makes it pretty clear that the Kuzuis are responsible for the failings of the original Buffy movie. So them helming this remake/reboot does not bode well at all.
DifferentMark on May 27, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Bitca.
Jeff Medcalf on May 27, 2009 at 12:48 PM
I could certainly see starting up a new Slayer series in the same universe, but with entirely different characters and location. To some degree, after all, this is what Angel was, though characters were shared with the original show. I could see setting a new Buffy series or movie in the past, which would allow for some existing characters to come into play (one of the slayers killed by Spike, for instance, could be the start of the series). I could see setting it in the future, following after Buffy or using the "all the potential slayers are slayers now" that Whedon wrote into the series ending. But I cannot, cannot, cannot see doing anything recognizable as Buffy if either it does not intimately involve Whedon, or it is not set in the Buffyverse of the show. So my hopes are about zero for this being useful.
Moreover, it's just one more in a long train of evidence that Hollywood is completely out of ideas. (When I went to see Star Trek, itself a reboot, recently, every movie but one (a stupid-looking Jack Black comedy) was a remake, a reboot, or a reuse of an old title or characters.) And then Hollywood wonders why its product is selling so badly?
DamnCat on May 27, 2009 at 12:51 PM
I don't think Whedon would do it without Sarah Michelle Gellar - I suspect that he considers her the only possible Buffy from now on.
Into every generation is born a slayer. If they wish to restart the francise they should tell the story of a slayer other than Buffy.
Robert on May 27, 2009 at 01:22 PM
BLASPHEMERS!!!!!!
Shannon Love on May 27, 2009 at 01:27 PM
Heresy! Death to the infidel defilers of the Whedon-verse!
I'm strapping on my suicide vest as I type!
Kevin on May 27, 2009 at 01:27 PM
Maybe an earlier generation has another Slayer born into it. Steampunk Buffy anyone?
Michael on May 27, 2009 at 01:55 PM
Doing a Star Trek Film without involvement from Gene Roddenberry is sort of required since he passed away in 1991. Joss Whedon is still alive.
Bob Hawkins on May 27, 2009 at 02:08 PM
Caffeine-free diet Coke, anyone?
anon on May 27, 2009 at 04:14 PM
This is retarded. NO ONE who loves Buffy/Joss Whedon will go see it. Joss fans will fucking picket and probably harass these people for the rest of their lives.
Ugh this makes me want to hurl. Why the fuck do so many people seek to destroy Whedon's talent? I almost want to guess that FOX is behind this somewhere.
Neshobanakni on May 27, 2009 at 04:52 PM
Just want to check in as someone who thought the movie was much better than the series. I'm a big Whedon fan, but the series was just rediculous.
Brent Michhael Krupp on May 27, 2009 at 06:23 PM
Someone call the asylum! Neshobanakni seems to have escaped.
Neshobanakni on May 27, 2009 at 07:12 PM
I hate it when people make assumptions, simply based on my wearing this jacket backwards ... and tied in the back.
Paul in NJ on May 27, 2009 at 07:31 PM
So this ready-for-oblivion homage would have no connection to the TV series and wouldn't feature the supporting cast that, frankly, made Buffy as good as it was.
But aside from those minor points it'll be just like the series!
RPittman on May 27, 2009 at 08:12 PM
Joss, just pick up the show with Buffy now a soccer mom trying to lead a normal life. Then Giles shows up. (Sarah Michelle, get the studio to pay for a couple of nannys.)
Synova on May 27, 2009 at 09:10 PM
I'm with Neshobanakni.
The movie was great. More... it was a whole different thing than the series. The movie and the series were hardly even related other than her name was "Buffy" and she was a "slayer" and there were vampires and stuff.
Joss Whedon is my hero in a whole lot of ways, but his "Buffy" is his "Buffy" and the movie "Buffy" was someone else's "Buffy."
Getting all bent because of some supposed violation of the primacy of Whedon's Buffy is silly. Though I'm certain that it will be an enjoyable time had by all. There's nothing people like better than to be mad about something.
Dave on May 27, 2009 at 11:10 PM
I liked the original movie for what it was, but there's no arguing it didn't go very far. And Buffy the tv series really did have something extra going on. Even putting the fan outcry aside, they're really going to have to nail it to pull it off, and having the original movie director in control doesn't inspire confidence. I'm not sure they can do that with a Star Trek-style reboot, which it sounds like they may run with. They might be better off with a non-Buffy lead Slayer and not a full reboot, which sounds like a possibility but not certain.
Laura on May 28, 2009 at 03:44 AM
It sounds to me like the creators of this potential movie think that their first movie spawned the television series, rather than the television series being made in spite of the first movie. If you try to make a Buffy movie without Joss Whedon, you're a fool. He, his staff, and his cast are the reasons the series was so successful. You could possibly find a new cast if the originals didn't want to participate or were too old when the movie was made, but that's risky, as for better or for worse, Sarah Michelle Gellar owned that character and made Buffy come alive. I can see people wanting to profit from the franchise, but if they're going to move forward with the concept, they should do so in another ten or twenty years when the Whedon fandom has fond nostalgia rather than fairly recent memories.