Last week, news broke that a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie is finally in the works. Unfortunately, it’s not the ones that fans have been hoping for. Rather than reuniting TV castmates like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, and James Marsters, the film would be a reboot of the original low-budget movie.
Back in 1992, Fox released the campy Buffy flick starring Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, and Luke Perry. The original script was written by a then-unknown writer named Joss Whedon. Fran Rubel Kuzui and her husband, Kaz, “discovered” the story for their Kuzui Enterprises. Ms. Kuzui directed the film while her husband put together the financing.
The movie wasn’t a big success and Whedon has often lamented that the movie wasn’t what he’d envisioned at all. Director Kuzui sought to make it into a “pop culture comedy about what people think about vampires.” Whedon said, “I had written this scary film about an empowered woman, and they turned it into a broad comedy. It was crushing.”
A few years later, Fox executive Gail Berman approached Whedon about doing a TV series and it was decided to take another stab at Buffy. Though Whedon and the Kuzuis had executive producer credits on both the Buffy TV show and its spinoff, Angel, the Kuzuis’ involvement only stemmed from their rights on the original movie.
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Now, the Kuzuis and Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment are working on a remake. Though the Buffy TV show is what most people remember, they’re going to be doing a reboot of the movie, without Whedon. That means that familiar characters like Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, or Spike won’t be along for the ride.
The new team’s goal is to make a dark big-budget movie, perfectly suited for plenty of sequels, video games, and even foreign remakes. They’re currently meeting with writers and will look for a studio at some point down the line. Though they haven’t approached Whedon, they aren’t ruling out his involvement entirely.
Speaking with the Hollywood Reporter, Ms. Kuzui said, “It was Roy’s interest in taking Buffy into a new place that grabbed us… It was based on our respect for what he does, and his particular sensitivity to Asian filmmakers, that we wanted to work with him.”
She concluded, “Everything has its moment. Every movie takes on a life at some point, and this seems like the moment to do this.”
Considering that the TV show ended just six years ago, many have expressed doubt that the time for a Buffy reboot is right. Most of the TV’s show’s expansive fan base would much prefer a reunion of the TV show’s cast but Whedon and Gellar have publicly resisted. Some feel that these movie plans might just be a ploy to force them to finally do a reunion.
Whedon has been fairly tight-lipped about the news but Anthony Head isn’t. The actor who played watcher Giles on the series told USA Today, “The Kuzuis didn’t do a great job on the movie the first time around. It was Joss’ script at the age of 19, but they changed a lot of it. They said, ‘Look, we know best and we know how to make this movie,’ and it became quite schlocky and high camp.”
He continued, “The bottom line is if a movie was ever to be made, it should be made with Joss Whedon, whether it’s a retrospective or not. But it would be madness to do it without him. [The Kuzuis] have the rights to because they have the rights to the original movie, but it should be interesting to see. It may be a bit like watching a car wreck.”
What do you think? The worst idea ever or could they actually make something unique and worthwhile?
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May I just say….what the fuck are they doing?! What is this nonsensical bullshit that they’re trying to pull? I started watching Buffy in ’97 when it first came out and followed it all the way through to the end. I also saw the “movie” or whatever the hell you want to call it and thought it was an atrocity. Let me make this perfectly clear….there is NO, I repeat NO Buffy without the tv show cast, it’s just impossible. These people don’t have a damn clue what they’re doing. This show has a huge fan base and following and they think that they can just come in and replace everything and everyone we’ve come to know and love when it comes to Buffy? The movie’s gonna blow either way. If they go forward with their ridiculous plan and don’t include anyone in the tv show it’s gonna suck because no one’s gonna care especially since Joss won’t be involved in any way. On the other hand if they by some miracle decide to incorporate the characters we know from the show I am pretty sure that they won’t be played by the cast from the tv show. So what are they gonna do? Either make a movie that has nothing to do with Buffy and therefor shouldn’t be called “Buffy” or they’re gonna try to incorporate the characters from the tv show but with different actors which honestly, I think would be worse since I believe that if anyone tried to replace, for example, James Marsters as Spike heads would be rolling. No one is gonna be ok with that. So the point is, this movie is an insult to all the loyal Buffy fans like myself and a complete waste of time. I urge all Buffy fans to disregard this movie as if it never even existed since it is a slap in the face to all of us.
Hope it’s a good serious one if not no thank you
The cast would be awesome to have back in the movie if they wanted to be in it…but it is essential for Joss to be involved completely. The rights should belong to Joss anyway, but that is another issue. Buffy is Joss!
I dont even want to think of a movie without Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, or Spike . Its totally insane! Plus anything that is not Joss product will suck…
what a load of crap, it has 2 b the tv cast SMG is being stupid, buffy is the best thing that has happened 2, her what has she done since???? can this idea for a reboot. the idea of a dark movie is good but do it with the real cast of buffy maybe even angelus (not held back 4 tv)
Please Please Please, don´t do this!!!! I belong to the European fan base, Norway, Scandinavia, and I grew up with the TV show – I was “raised” by Joss Whedon´s brilliant Buffy Universe, every week. I cried with them when Joyce died – I laughed with them when Xander had his Zeppo night – I cheered them on in every fight, every romance, every everything!
The sad thing is, that if a movie was to be made now, with a new cast, many people might think that the new movie is the real Buffy – people who were to young to experience the TV show – only the real fans would know that it isn´t. And that would kill off the real Buffy Universe! Who are these Kuzui people??? I knew Hollywood is full of bastards, but t shocks me all the same…
i think that if this movie is made without the tv series cast i think that it would be rubbish because a lot of people know about the tv series and that was brilliant but if there was a movie without the real cast from the tv show and the movie was rubbish then it would make a lot of people not like buffy because some people have never watched the tv seris and have been told that it was good and then go and see the movie and it being rubbish then people wont like the series they wont bother watching it
SO DO MAKE THE MOVIE BUT PUT THE PEOPLE OF THE TV-SERIES ON IT LIKE SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR , NICHOLAS BRENDON AND ALYSON HANNAGAIN .!!!
I CANT EVEN THINK ABOUT NO SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR……I WONT EVEN WATCH THE FAKE RE VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL MOVIE THAT JOSS WHEDON DID…BECASUE THATS WHERE THE ACTUALL SERIES CAME FROM…..WE DONT WANT TO SEE SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN…
WE WANT SOMETHING NEW……..WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT BUFFY…..PRESENT AND FUTURE…NOT PAST
I watched the buffy movie from 1992 and it was horrible. The effects were stupid and the comedy of it was not right. Then they made Buffy into a tv show. Buffy is well known for the tv show and the actress that played her for seven years( Sarah Michelle Gellar). I think its a waste of time to re do a movie that wasn’t really good. If they got the tv cast together and brought up new ideas then yea I will go for it. But I think it will be a trainwreck and a disgrace to Buffy and her leagacy.
This is really just an attempt by the Kazuis to tap into the now hugely popular ‘tween vampire market’ hence their hope that it will turn into a franchise with many sequels. I watched Buffy from the beggining and have always considered the film to be a completely separate production with no connection to the hugely popular TV show. To take Joss whedons vision and try and capitalise on it is completely disrespectful and ignorant of the complexities of the show. If they were going to make a re-make at least call it something else and reinvent it in its entirety as a new film. But no, they just want the name and the publicity that comes with it. I definately will not be bothering to watch this film.
Yeah, I think that redoing the movie is a pretty ridiculous idea. Not only was it terrible, but they aren’t even asking for Joss Whedon’s input. Pfft. The only reason I would ever watch it would be to laugh.
Please don’t kill me for saying this but I am actually interested in a redo of the movie. While I would love to see the true Buffy cast I am intrigued by a new group. It will not be the same aas the extraordinary world Joss created but it would be very cool to see the movie as it was originally intended to be made. I just hope they don’t pop it up like they did the last movie.
I’m sure it would be bad as the morons that made the A-Team movie will be has bad as that shit. Please stop trashing the greats.
The only way you would see the movie as it was ‘intended to be made’ is if Joss was involved, since it’s HIS STORY. The Kuzui’s, or whoever they are, are the ones who messed it up in the first place and turned Joss’s story into a campy mess. I won’t go see it, because I am fiercely loyal to the wonderful story that Joss created in the series. If they are going to do a Buffy movie, then let Joss do it, and bring back the series cast! If this project does get the green light to go through, I’m definitely NOT going to see it, and will pretend for the rest of my life that it doesn’t exist.
if they make it without joss and without the real cast it will turn out to be shit!
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