Den of Geek

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake

Simon Brew


Buffy could be heading to the big screen again – but Joss Whedon is nowhere to be seen…

Published on May 26, 2009

Remember the 1992 movie of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the one that would inadvertently kick start one of the finest television franchises of the decade? According to Reuters this morning, it's the latest property to be sent along for a ride on the Hollywood reboot/remake gravy train.

According to the report, the film's director, Fran Rubel Kuzui, held onto the rights to Buffy when she picked up the original script from Joss Whedon. She played a part in helping Whedon make the television series, but the planned new film would not be linked to that in any way. Nor would any characters from the TV show be crossing over to the movie.

Reuters reports that "One of the underlying ideas of "Buffy" allows the filmmakers to do just that: that each generation has its own vampire slayer to protect it. The goal would be to make a darker, event-sized movie that would, of course, have franchise potential."

As of now, Joss Whedon has no involvement in the project, although Kuzui and her team have not ruled out getting in touch with him as things progress. Don't expect anything to hit the screen for a couple of years yet...

Reuters

 

Users Comments

Re: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake
Posted By SeymourCat 1 May 26, 2009 11:54:37 AM

Terrible idea.

Re: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake
Posted By khodge 1 May 26, 2009 02:37:11 PM

I'm not the kind of fan to get my knickers in a knot about things - but this is a totally idiotic idea. It's clearly a quick buck tactic; a situation where a license-holder has seen a potentially profitable opportunity and is leaking the idea to gauge support. They could make a good movie. They're right about the premise - it wouldn't have to be Buffy... But they'd also have to ignore the TV chronology to make that fly. At the end of the series, every potential *was* a slayer... Getting all whiny about canon is the kind of thing basement dwelling Trek gonks do - I know. But Buffy wasn't "premise" driven - it was character driven. That was its USP - and why every SciFi franchise is now a knowing, postmodern soap opera. BtVS changed television. Full stop. So - if you do Buffy without the TV series continuity, you might as well not do Buffy at all. Do it with the old characters, and you tap into all the good will of the fanbase. Do it without and you have to spend 90 minutes setting up the premise and establishing relationships with a bunch of new dudes. You might as well do Twilight or Blade or make up a brand new vampire franchise. Furthermore, if you do a Buffy movie without Joss Whedon - you might as well not do Buffy. Whedon isn't quite the televisual Messiah that many fans make out - but he was great for Buffy. He was responsible for Buffy's style, its meter and tone. Hell, he's responsible for how a generation of geeks speak . Ultimately, he's why it became popular. There's another reason why it's dumb to write off the TV series continuity. The actors still want to do it. Anthony Head has been pitching the Ripper spin-off to anyone who'll listen for years. James Marsters has been itching to do Spike. Boreanaz said he'd play Angel if it was on the big screen. There have even been recent rumours that Sarah Michelle Gellar might finally be up for a return - after her post-Buffy movie career failed to go ballistic. Actually, let's just make that "failed". Before going off "half-cocked", getting all producery about their ownership of the franchise, the Kazui's would have been better off arranging a quiet meeting with Whedon - see if he's got any ideas first. Let him sound out Gellar. Get the core team back at least. Because this premature bluster shows that the Kazui's really don't get the Buffy fanbase at all. And if they can't get the preliminaries right - how does that bode for a future movie?

Re: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake
Posted By meanorangebubble 1 May 26, 2009 02:59:15 PM

The Reuters statement suggests a new vampire slayer not a remake. So it could work.

: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: original on tonight
Posted By Geekette 1 May 26, 2009 04:54:49 PM

Just a heads up for fans of the original, or the curious, the movie is on tonight on Film4 at 11:40pm, then an hour later on +1

Re: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake
Posted By solaco111 1 May 26, 2009 06:43:59 PM

seriously, just get some new ideas... this isnt worth the time of day if it has nothing to do with the show...

Re: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake
Posted By FinnFan 1 May 27, 2009 12:06:05 PM

So if it's not about Buffy and his friends, but about a new slayer, is it going to be called "Lisa the Vampire Slayer"? Or does the new slayer also happen to be improbably and conveniently called Buffy?

Re: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake
Posted By FinnFan 1 May 27, 2009 12:06:35 PM

Sorry, Buffy and _her_ friends. Also forgot to mention: worst idea ever.

Re: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake
Posted By osiris292 1 May 27, 2009 12:23:31 PM

I heard it was more of a continuation to the series thats set on the correct timeline from where the last episode was aired so they mentioned SMG returning as buffy and maybe even having a kid of her own. but the idea in this report is terrible.

Re: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake
Posted By FinnFan 1 May 28, 2009 03:59:44 AM

I can't imagine SMG returning without Whedon's involvement. I've understood she's been weary about returning to the role, so why would she bother to do it for Kuzui?

Re: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake
Posted By capt_1ntens0 1 May 28, 2009 09:22:49 AM

I second SeymourCat above- truly terrible idea. Who is seriously going to watch this if it comes out? Besides that, the original movie was truly godawful and this director should never be let near a set again.

Re: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: the movie remake
Posted By khodge 1 May 28, 2009 10:51:13 AM

Osiris292 - that's a completely different and unrelated rumour.
Post a Comment
Security Code* Get another image
 
 
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992)

Untitled Document

Follow Den of Geek on

Related Articles

SEARCH

Coke Zero
Advertisement