Buffy the Vampire Slayer to be a Remake

Careful what you wish for Buffy fans, you just might get it.

Looks like there is a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer film coming, but its not what you would think. The original director is teaming up with Vertigo Entertainment to take the much loved franchise and reboot/remake it. Without Joss Whedon.

Rope of Silicon repofts:

Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment are working with original movie director Fran Rubel Kuzui and her husband, Kaz Kuzui, on what is being labeled a remake or relaunch of Buffy, but not a sequel or prequel. Kuzui and her Kuzui Enterprises have held onto the rights since the beginning, when she discovered the Buffy script from then-unknown Whedon.

This is the dumbest idea ever. Well this, and casting Pro Wrestlers or rappers to star in films

This reeks of a Twilight vampire bandwagon effort (even CW has a new Twilight ripoff show coming out in the fall) with a side order of “Whedon had his chance”. At least the director/producer of the original film that inspired the phenomenon is behind this, so at very least I hope they would have some passion for the project.

However it could be a career move hinging on the vampire craze lately since Fran Rubel Kuzui hasn’t directed anything SINCE the Buffy film.

Normally I would play the TMB Rules of a Remake game. But looking at the criteria I had a hard time separating the film from the TV series. The TV series was a direct sequel to the Movie. The pilot episode even has Buffy Summers moving to Sunnydale after she was expelled from her previous highschool for burning down the Gym.

The comparison I want to play here would be to line it up with the recent incarnation of Star Trek. I want to play devil’s advocate here, because I think this is a bad idea but I could be open to the idea if it is handled correctly.

Let me just deviate for a moment and say that I am a MASSIVE Whedonite, and loved the Buffy series and the Angel spinoff. Best TV of its decade, for a number of reasons.

Anyways, if these people want to remake Buffy, the only way I see it having a chance is to consider Star Trek.

If someone had told me they were remaking Star Trek, I would say they were out of their mind. But they did. Kinda. This Star Trek was a reboot, and paid due tribute to its predacessors, and “continued” the story without remaking the story. This gave them a clean slate and I applauded them for it.

The franchise was dead. The die hards were still craving more, but it just wasn’t going to happen. For whatever multitude of fingerpointing reasons the Trekkers gave, it was just dead Jim.

Now let’s look at Buffy. After 7 amazing seasons, Buffy finally called it quits, and for another year after that we saw the untimely end of the Angel spinoff.

That was just 5 years ago. Since then, the fanbase as been itching for a reunion movie, a rumoured spinoff involving Spike, Faith or Rupert “Ripper” Giles. The comic book series, dubbed Season 8 has been popular. But herein lies the problem.

If they reboot the series, Whedon will not be involved at all, and they will be remaking it with a whole new story and new characters. The parts of Buffy that people LOVE and are enthusastic about are the characters. And aside from Buffy, all the characters came in the TV series.

This reboot can’t work like Star Trek did. They are hoping to latch onto the Vampire craze, boosted by the enthusiasm of the Buffy fans, and hope to rekindle a dead franchise.

So my only other hope is that they cling to their rights to the Buffyverse, pay some royalties to Whedon for his expanded mythos, and offer a “next generation” kind of thing. Introduce a new Slayer from the mass of “activated slayers in waiting” and deal with a story there. I also feel this is the only hope for a future Star Wars franchise. The current Clone Wars stuff will die off, and a decade from now we will get a “next generation” Star Wars franchise like the Legacy Comics.

All that being said, Buffy is one of those franchises that saw a wave of success that will overshadow any attempt to reboot it. I am not saying it can’t be done, but it won’t be easy.

I know the raving Whedonites will deny this film like I see the Highlander sequels, but there is a tiny sliver of hope that they could make this into something it never was and still be loved.

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30 thoughts on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer to be a Remake

  1. NOOOOO! Joss whedon is a god, Buffy the vampire slayer in the show he made it better than the movie! if you want to make buffy a burnette bad idea. buffy is blonde always have and always should. kristen stewert, megan fox, or whoever you want to try and be the buffy we all respect and love than you are going to call upon the apocolyps to end the world. Sarah michelle gellar is amazing. she is Buffy. but you guys insist on a new buffy than make a whole new girl. don’t rely on the actresses in hollywood. their is some girl out there with a dream and you are going to crush that dream. the movie was not all that good. the shows buffy and angel were spectacular. oh. don’t forget the vampires need to go, well, poof. they need to turn to dust.:) their also needs to be and angel!!!!!

  2. if a movie is made without joss whedon and without the original buffy characters then who is going to see it? whats the point?! obviously some people will watch it but it will probz do worse then the original film. i cant predict the future but fans of the tv show will be the main audience for a buffy movie and if the film doesnt involve joss whedon and the characters from the tv show then those fans arent going to watch it. perhaps a few for curiosity but thats it. << in my opnion anyways!

  3. they have to have the characters from the show in the movie just make up like theres another big bad like the first and buffy(sarah michelle)gets the potencial slayers and teh gang..
    i hope she dosnt f this movie up and make it crap i was always hopeing they would do something buffy again but not like this…x

  4. Ok….as any die hard Buffy fan knows, the movie flopped because certain higher ups didn’t really care about it. They wanted a quickly produced movie that they could get out for summer and hopefully make some money off of. Joss Whedon even left the set many times because of how his vision was getting jacked. That being said, no the movie was not that great. It was only until the series when he got his creative control back that the storyline and characters shined.
    Ever since Twilight came out I’ve been saying, “What about Buffy? That was way better in every way!” Not so much because I wanted it to be brought back, just because I was sick from all the attention Twilight was getting. All it is is a romance novel with vampires thrown in. And since I am such a die hard Buffy fan I can’t accept vampires that walk around during the day, who can choose to be good or not just because they choose it to be so, or any of the other ideas the author had about vampires.
    Now all that being said, I would absolutely REFUSE to see a Buffy movie that did not involve Joss Whedon. Along with that I agree with some of the others who say it’s too early for any kind of reboot. This is just a dirty, underhanded way to try and make some money off of this stupid Twilight/vampire craze. Frankly, it makes me sick that someone would attempt to mess with such a great vision and show just to make a few bucks…just like was done with the original movie.

  5. I don’t know about this. I’m not saying I would never see Buffy without Joss, but in many ways the Buffyverse encapsulates everything that Joss is about- without him I’m just not sure it will be Buffy at all- just another vamp movie.

  6. I never got into the appeal of Buffy, or Angel, for that matter. But if this WAS about a new group of Slayers, where is Buffy? Why call it Buffy The Vampire Slayer? Odd.

    And, no, the first film wasn’t great at all.
    As for the lack of Whedon, perhaps Whedon didn’t want to be involved, figuring he’s taken it as far as it can go. But the core fanbase of Buffy (and Angel) are from the TV series.

    1. Apparently he hasnt been asked yet. Maybe he wont be. Who knows.

      Also, if it is about a group of slayers, now that there is no watcher’s council (The Slayer’s bosses) perhaps Buffy will be training them.

  7. Im just amazed that Whedon never purchased the rights away from them after all this time. Hes done way more with Buffy and made way more money than they ever could have.

  8. I agree with “The Dude”. The Kuzai’s hacked the original script to pieces, and the movie bombed. Whedon’s writing is the reason the Buffy franchise was great and fresh and funny.

    I don’t care so much if the original cast is involved. I think they could recast all of the characters as long as Whedon is writing the lines and the movie will be fine. Especially since SMG was the reason the show ended in the first place, and almost all of the rest of the original actors are doing new projects now (Allison Hannigan on HIMYM)

    The tv series did well because talented, committed people worked hard to put out a good product. Not because a couple of producers wanted to make a million bucks by riding along on a fad fueled by a series of good books and a mediocre movie.

  9. omg im having a lulzgasm of awesomeness just imagining the whedon-buffy nation rising up in overnight vigils and sing-alongs against this when it hits theaters.
    i can’t wait.

  10. Rodney, what?

    No way man, no way. They had their chance and the first movie was so bad for so many reasons. It only had two good things going for it; Whedon’s original screenplay that they butchered, ate and hacked up, and Kristy Swanson <— Damn she was sexy.

    Whedon went forward to create a wonderfully orginal and funny series that is successful due to a combination of things, great writing, original stories, SMG, great supporting cast. To reboot this franchise without Whedon or SMG is a kick in the face to the series and the fans and goddamnit I hope someone comes to their senses about this.
    SMG is still young enough and hot enough to do a couple of Buffy movies if they were smart enough to do it soon. I would not watch a reboot.

    1. Kristy still is. I met her last summer and she was a riot.

      I guarantee no Buffy fan is going to be drawn into this.

      If they did a totally new movie, separate from Buffy but with the rights in their pocket they wouldnt get sued for the similarities.

      If they came out with a cool enough looking movie, no one would care that it wasn’t Buffy.

      They might stand a chance to ride the Vampire popularity without alienating the Buffy Fans.

      Thats a huge pile to alienat.

  11. “This reeks of a Twilight vampire bandwagon effort (even CW has a new Twilight ripoff show coming out in the fall)”
    Just as a side note, The CW series is basing on “The Vampire Diaries” whose first book of the series was published in 1991. Twilight was published in 2005. So they are not ripping off Twilight, they ARE jumping on the vampire wagon but its no ripoff.

    The best current vampire series (books, movie, or tv wise) in my opinion, is True Blood on HBO. Love it.

    1. I still consider it a ripoff. The story may have come first, but they had the last 18 years to make that book a TV show or Movie. The ONLY reason its coming now is because of Twilight.

      Its ripping off Twilight’s popularity, not its idea.

  12. No thank you. This is a smack in the face of Whedon and his work. I will not be seeing anything called Buffy the Vampire Slayer unless Whedon is behind it.
    The idea of someone besides Geller being Buffy is hard to take aswell. No Giles? No Spike? No thank you.

    1. All exceptions to the rule, but clearly those people dedicated themselves to the craft and took on a new career path. Will Smith still makes music from time to time but he spent the time and dedication becoming a good actor. Same can be said of Walberg.

      Jennifer Hudson was an aspiring actress and musical singer before she went on Idol.

      Same can be said of any of them who outgrow their first jobs. Most rappers/wrestlers etc get cast because of name placement and “star power” to draw in their fanbase, not because they have ability.

      When 50cent wins an Oscar you let me know.

  13. Apparently, it won’t be a remake. Rather, it’s going to be about other “Slayers”, starting with a brand new crew:
    http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i666afabc28491e6a5d5861d83ae30855

    I think that’s smarter (although I’m not quite sure it’s the right time for this, yet). Whedon and the original cast are still very much linked to their characters and the series still has a very strong fan base. It’s better that they leave those characters alone for now.

  14. Fair point with the Star Trek comparison. No noe expected that to work as well as it did.

    A Buffy reboot isn’t a bad idea per se, but its too soon. Wait another twenty years and give it a shot. Current Buffy fans have no desire to see the universe rebooted into Twilight 2 – Slayerboogalo.

  15. Thank God the T.V. series was different from the movie. Wait for the trailer? I don’t know about you but I’ve never heard anyone clamoring to watch that classic movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have see people line up to buy the series on DVD at a fever pitch. That movie sucked. The only reason we are talking about Buffy is Whedon. The Buffyverse is only there because of him. To make a decent movie you would have to use use his idea’s and mytho’s. I hope someone drops their pride and invites Whedon in to make a reboot that the fans deserve. By the way Twillight was bad. To go in that direction would be a mistake with this character.

    1. YES A NEW MOVIE WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA, BUT ONLY IF IT INVOLED WHEDON. IF THEY GAVE IT A LARGE BUGET AND REAL EFFORT I THINK YOU COULD POSSIBLY MAKE A MOVIE BASE ON THE SEASON 8 COMIC. MAKE THE MOVIE A COMPLETION OF SEASON 8. IT ALREADY HAD A GREAT STORY LINE THE END OF MAGIC. ANYTHING WOULD IMPROVE THE FIRTS MOVIE.

  16. I don’t see the problem with it. Joss Whedon isn’t God, as Dollhouse and Alien Resurrection proves. The TV show was almost nothing at all like the original movie. I say give it a chance – at least wait until a trailer before 100% passing judgment.

    1. I don’t know. I mean, they want to completely reboot the franchise? Buffy already has an entire universe of it’s own with it’s own laws and characters, and a timeline. A new movie would completely uproot all that. It would be like completely rebooting the original Star Wars trilogy from the top. What the heck is the point?

      1. They should start from the end of season 7, or have a spinoff with spike, angel, and buffy. Insted of a movie they should take all of the actors and stick them in a new season of buffy, the kids nowadays are just dieing for a tv show thats cult worthy, we have twilight but the movies are almost over and the books are all out and its gonna die out soon Buffy is forever.

    2. I’d prefer a movie sequel to Season 8, or merely, as John puts it, a new generation storyline. The Kuzui’s executive produced so many Buffy episodes, and they should really know better than to go through with this.

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