According to the Hollywood Reporter, the rights holders of Buffy the Vampire Slayer — which began as the 1992 crapmound film starring Kristy Swanson and was later transformed by writer Joss Whedon into one of the touchstone TV series of the last 25 years — are planning a remake/relaunch. Now, fans of the Buffyverse have been clamoring for a feature extension ever since the show’s end in 2003; and they’ve made the Whedon-overseen comic books best sellers. Whedon has long been the hand on the wheel of the Buffy franchise, and his cultish fanbase are legion.
That raucous sound you hear is that fanbase currently consulting an engineer to figure out exactly how to support all of the hell they’re gonna raise. Because — get this — Whedon isn’t involved. AT ALL. (Update: Joss Whedon responds.)
According to the news item, the producers aren’t against the idea of Whedon’s involvement, but they haven’t "reached out to him." What’s more, this new "film" would have no connection with the TV series, nor would it feature any of the show’s robust supporting cast. In other words, they’d be jettisoning everything and everyone that made Buffy work. I swear, sometimes it’s as if Hollywood sets out with "failure" plugged right into the GPS.
The only reason that Buffy remains a viable franchise is because of the rabid, happy-to-purchase fanbase. And the only reason that fanbase exists is because of Joss Whedon. (There are actually t-shirts out there with "Joss Whedon is my master now" printed on them.) Why leave all that money on the table simply to make a shoddy Twilight-lite? Because there’s no way those fans would turn out if Whedon wasn’t involved — what’s more, they’d actively work to undermine it in every way possible.
Clearly, Joss has more Buffy stories to tell. Why not let him? Would you go see this film without Joss Whedon at the helm? Vote in our poll. Sound off in the comments section.
Comments (1-30) of 403 Add your comment
No!!
as whitney houston would put it: HELL TO THE NO!
Joss Whedon is the most overrated hack on the planet. Every single one of his characters sounds exactly the same — overly glib, self-referentially “hip”, and pseudo-tragic. Face it, folks, Firefly was overrated junk, and Dollhouse deserved to fail. Get over it already.
The only way I would see a “buffy” movie was if the ORIGINAL cast from the TV show was in and JOSH had something to do with it. The 1st buffy movie sucked and Josh made it a gold mine. I think he is brilliant and love every show he has atempted to put out, including FireFly and Dollhouse. The only think I didn’t like was how Angel ended, that is what should be made into a movie, to have a proper ending….
Suck it “So Over” – if you don’t want to watch, just don’t.
Joss isn’t perfect and he’s done some stupid things with the comic but still Buffy without him…Never!!! What is wrong with Hollywood types. So selfish and out of touch!
when i read this i just KNEW there would be stories and riots. joss whedon is the man – why not involve him?!?!?
wow,, this is nice
But for more info watch she16(dot)com
Why Why Why? First a movie based on Candyland and now this? Hollywood really needs a reality check! Joss just needs to keep making his own stuff like Dr. Horrible. Whedon is king!
No, there is a worse idea….
A ‘Buffy’ movie itself.
Not just worst idea ever of the year, but WORST IDEA EVER OF ALL TIME!!! Seriously? SERIOUSLY? I’m a film student and I swear I am slowly losing all faith in the Hollywood system. What the heck is going on out there!? Movies based on board games!? Sequels to films that shouldn’t even have been made in the first place!? A JOSS-LESS, ORIGINAL CAST-LESS BUFFY MOVIE!? I sincerely hope this doesn’t happen, cuz whoever green lights this thing is in for a world of angry fan pain.
Who can we write to to stop this? Can someone at EW talk to someone in charge and let them know how much the fans HATE this??? Without Joss, it would be a shitshow. Complete and total.
It was bound to happen sooner or later.
Sounds worst than the remake of The Three Stooges.
http://tvdonewright.com/2009-2010-season-preview/
shut up, wait till u see it, could be great like new coke
Someone needs to explain to these people that a “reboot” without Joss Whedon is a worthless property. These are the same people who screwed up the first Buffy movie, which no one went to see.
Buffy without Joss Whedon are these people crazy? Do they need a tax write off? He’s the reason that show did so well. Please tell me these people aren’t that stupid.
If they make a movie with the original cast they’d have a built in audience. Hell I’d be there for the first show.
What a bunch of morons Buffy is not Buffy Without Joss and the original cast. I mean seriously are they really that dense.
Something must be done!!!
Choosing to not include Whedon, or any aspects of the television series is not just poor judgement, it’s down right stupid.
Obviously they’ll be relying on the loyal fan base for their success but I can already tell you that fans of the series are sure as hell not going to see some hack version of the original movie that has nothing to do with the writers, directors and actors of the show. The only reason Buffy is so popular is because of Whedon and his incredible story telling.
What a ridiculous idea. What a ridiculous waste of money.
Better to give me the millions of dollars you’re sure to pour into this mess, I’ll make something the fans with actually enjoy.
Choosing to not include Whedon, or any aspects of the television series is not just poor judgement, it’s down right stupid.
Obviously they’ll be relying on the loyal fan base for their success but I can already tell you that fans of the series are sure as hell not going to see some hack version of the original movie that has nothing to do with the writers, directors and actors of the show. The only reason Buffy is so popular is because of Whedon and his incredible story telling.
What a ridiculous idea. What a ridiculous waste of money.
Better to give me the millions of dollars you’re sure to pour into this mess, I’ll make something the fans with actually enjoy.
grr!!! (argh) This is a hideous idea. Considering that the fandom is already pretty anti-Kuzui, I cannot wait for the inevitable uproar should any studio be clueless enough to actually green-light this. The Kuzuis’ agenda is so ridiculously transparent…tis all about the money. Sadly, BtVS was never a mainstream hit to begin with, so by alienating the fanbase I don’t know how expect to be successful. Oh, that’s right…they’re morons whose logic does not resemble our earth logic.
Most definitely the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard. If you include Joss and the cast, it’s a sure-fire hit with the fans. And the people who would go see the Whedon-less version would go see a Whedon version too. Um, how is this possibly even being considered?!
Most definitely the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard. If you include Joss and the cast, it’s a sure-fire hit with the fans. And the people who would go see the Whedon-less version would go see a Whedon version too. Um, how is this possibly even being considered?!
now you all know how Trekkies feel.
I don’t want to even conceive of a world where a “twilight-like” Buffy ever exists because it is due to that movie that they are even considering this. In one word…NO! No Joss, no Buffy movie!
NO NO NO NO. Holy moly, if this thing gets greenlighted…
OMGWTF…THERE CANNOT BE A BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER MOVIE WITHOUT JOSS WHEDON BEING INVOLVED OR THE CAST FROM THE TV SHOW…WTF…..WORST NEWS OF 2009 SO FAR!
As much as I long for more Buffy, this is NOT at all what I want. Joss and at least some of the original cast are a must. If I can’t have it that way, I’d rather have nothing at all. Seriously!!