Oh for the love of… there’s a Buffy The Vampire Slayer reboot coming. UPDATED

UPDATED:

Guys, relax… we had this story sent to us twice yesterday and, through human error, didn’t realise this story is an old one. It looks like this isn’t happening.

Apologies.

– Marc

I’ve had this nightmare…

One of the best TV shows ever for people like you and I was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It gave us a strong female hero that everyone could root for. It gave us the best ensemble cast arguably ever assembled. It gave us Joss Whedon. And you could argue it played a big part in shaping the awesome nerd-culture we all enjoy so much today.

And, as a father who has just started re-watching it from the beginning (currently on season four and Angel season one) with his young son and daughter (their first time), I can confirm that it still holds up incredible well in writing, performances and even (mostly) in the effects.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is classic.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is iconic.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is an institution.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is f@#*$%^ being rebooted!?

Seriously.

Look, we know Sarah Michelle Gellar herself recently (here) said that she doesn’t think Buffy Summers (that we know and love) would return but rather she likes to think she’s on a beach somewhere, enjoying life…

And we were ok with that.

But we still think the cast all look pretty great (here) and would happily welcome them back for an X-Files type return. But we digress.

The story has lived on in Dark Horse’s comics (along with Angel) and the stories are great and, given Whedon’s involvement, we assume they’re canon too.

And, given the concept – into every generation a Slayer is born – there’s a million different stories to be told… Mary The Vampire Slayer, Joanne The Vampire Slayer, Faith The Vampire Slayer or Jacqueline The Vampire Slayer, the list goes on…

But oh no, now the powers that be at Warner Bros are planning on bringing Buffy Summers back to the big screen.

In a reboot.

Without creator Joss Whedon involved.

Let that sink in.

Atlas Entertainment, the company of Charles Roven, who produced The Dark Knight has hired screenwriter Whit Anderson to tackle the return of Buffy and, presumably, the Scooby Gang.

“Whit approached us with an exciting idea about how to update Buffy. There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character’s return to the big screen. We’re thrilled to team up with Doug [Davison] and Roy [Lee] on a re-imagining of Buffy and the world she inhabits,” said Roven.

“Details of the film are being kept under wraps, but I can say while this is not your high school Buffy, she’ll be just as witty, tough, and sexy as we all remember her to be.”

As for the writer? Well, Anderson said: “I didn’t really watch much television at all, but I always watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that was the one show I would watch when I got home.

“I just loved this character. I was the same age as Buffy and it was so rare to have a female lead character on TV in those days who was strong and capable and smart but also allowed to be feminine.”

Now, the idea that Buffy won’t be the High School girl is interesting. In the series we met Buffy at High School and then followed her until she finished University. The awful 1997 movie from Warners told her story pre-High School.

We might get that movie again only done, you know, well. Or we might meet an older Buffy. So there is ways to keep this in canon but we honestly don’t think that’s the plan.

But what does Buffy’s true father, Joss Whedon, have to say about this?

“This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths – just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself (we’re assuming this is sarcasm).”

“I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don’t love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I’m also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly”. 

Here’s the deal, Buffy ran for seven seasons, sister series Angel ran for five. There’s been numerous comics – including Seasons 8, 9 and 10 from Dark Horse – and even Whedon’s original script for the movie was told properly in a Dark Horse adaptation, so there’s no, we repeat, NO, reason to do this to Buffy Summers.

Dear Hollywood, please stop rebooting what we love and give us new stuff to love.

Thanks,

Everyone in the world (including Joss Whedon) except Charles Roven and Whit Andeson.

“Audible sigh,” indeed…

Source: E! via DoG