How would a new Buffy movie play out?

Steven123

Steven123

Angel's Buddy
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After a lot of discussion on the thread about the potential of a Buffy reboot/remake/continuance (great discussion and ideas so far by the way everyone 🙂 )

Do you think it would be easier/better if there was a new movie made instead of another series? Or would that just be a hugely underwhelming/unsuccessful?

I know when you look at the first Buffy movie, despite the fact of the cast etc being different, there are also a lot of difference between movie/series it's self, the way the Vamps die, the ability to be able to turn into vampire/human (face), Buffy's past (from the movie Buffy's parents are rich but care little for her, in the series, obviously have Joyce who is completely different) and all the other differences to it. And as Joss said after seeing it he didn't approve as it had come out completely different than what he wanted the script interpreted as.

Now I know with a movie as well we will be bringing up the same questions as a series, should the former cast or some of them return etc (which I think for a movie after the series, previous cast would be helpful) but would a movie help to bring more closure to things left open from the series? Or would a movie bring up more questions and then bring the need for another series to be made?
 
I don't think a movie would be financially beneficial for a studio.

For a start off, there would be a load of resistance from fans of the series (who are the ones that would be more likely to go); secondly the studio would have to hope that the name of a franchise which is 20 years old is enough to pull in new eyes. Thirdly, fans of the series will rip the new movie apart and bad word of mouth would make the new movie a flop. Some franchises shouldn't be messed with even decades later (Lost Boys is a prime example of this).
 
DeadlyDuo said:
I don't think a movie would be financially beneficial for a studio.

For a start off, there would be a load of resistance from fans of the series (who are the ones that would be more likely to go); secondly the studio would have to hope that the name of a franchise which is 20 years old is enough to pull in new eyes. Thirdly, fans of the series will rip the new movie apart and bad word of mouth would make the new movie a flop. Some franchises shouldn't be messed with even decades later (Lost Boys is a prime example of this).
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This was a a good few years back now...

Los Angeles Times site reported that Whit Anderson, the writer picked for the new Buffy movie, had her script rejected by the producers behind the project, and that a new writer was being sought. Sources also stated that "If you're going to bring it back, you have to do it right. [Anderson] came in with some great ideas and she had reinvented some of the lore and it was pretty cool but in the end there just wasn't enough on the page." That was about 2012 so as I said..very long time ago..but the earlier talk before that was that Vertigo Entertainment were looking at a remake but that it would not involve any of the television cast. Thankfully that is old news but I can imagine they may still be trying.
 
The problem they're going to have is that they can't have Buffy the vampire Slayer without a Buffy, and SMG is the definitive Buffy so the new Buffy is going to be compared negatively to her performance.

If they have a supernatural love interest, he is going to be compared negatively to Spike and Angel, regardless of if s/he's a vampire or some other supernatural entity.

Same problem with Buffy's friends.

Basically, race swapping, gender swapping, etc, is going to go down negatively with the fanbase who are going to accuse the movie of being an unnecessary PC remake of the series.
 
Reboots are all the rage right now, so if we see anything my guess is a reboot of some sort. I'd be interested in seeing a total reboot.

I'd honestly be less interested in seeing a movie that tried to be a continuation of the story we have so far. While I like the characters and their story, I think it would be very hard to make a decent film given everything thats happened with the characters in the comics. I mean, Joss has said if they ever did anything like that then he would change what's canon, right?
 
I think there'd be more interest and less resistance to an adaptation of Fray than a reboot of Buffy.

New Buffy would always get compared to old Buffy. It feels like it would always be a non-starter, regardless of the talent involved.
 
I think a complete reboot could be could. Yes, fans of the original series would compare it unfavorably to the new series, but a whole new fandom could emerge anyway. There are many reboots of movies in series form right now and those shows get renewed I think (12 Monkeys for example). People like vampire stuff, especially with a leading woman who is a hero, so people would tune in and give the show a chance. A lot of people have never seen BtVS and might watch the reboot and enjoy it. That part's all up to whoever produces it. I think it would be cool to have a new BtVS as long as the show is good, although I'd probably draw comparisons to the original.

As for a movie, I don't think it'd work. People know BtVS as a good series and a bad movie, and I think Buffy works better on a series format.
 
This question reminds me of all of the blow back the Charmed reboot is getting. In that case though, the show being rebooted isn't all that great to begin with so theres a chance it could actually improve on the source material whereas with Buffy the source material isn't so easy to do that with. I think a lot of us on the forum (myself included) create a lot of what if scenarios in terms of what could or should have been, but there are episodes and moments in the Buffyverse that just cant be re-done.

Given the mythology of the show, I think if someone wanted to cash in on the nostalgia like every other show seems to do you could easily do a spin off movie, mini series, or television season centering on a new character with vague references to the Buffyverse and maybe even cameos from certain characters. That'd way you;d be using the Buffy brand, but not necessarily changing what people loved which is probably be the best way not to piss people off and I think most in the random would at the very least be willing to give it a shot.
 
Here is a bit of a copy from some years ago on what nearly happened..definitely old news by now obviously.


On May 25, 2009, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment were working with Fran Rubel Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui on a re-envisioning or relaunch of the Buffy film for the big screen. The film would not be a sequel or prequel to the existing film or television franchise and Joss Whedon would have no involvement in the project. None of the characters, cast, or crew from the television series would be featured.[ Television series executive producer Marti Noxon later reflected that this story might have been produced by the studio in order to frighten Whedon into taking the reins of the project.On November 22, 2010, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Warner Bros. had picked up the movie rights to the remake. The film was set for release sometime in 2012.[20th Century Fox, which usually holds rights to the more successful Buffy/Angel television franchise, will retain merchandising and some distribution rights.


The idea of the remake caused wrath among fans of the TV series, since Whedon is not involved and the project does not have any connection with the show and will not conform to the continuity maintained with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight and Season Nine comic book titles. Not only the fandom, but the main cast members of both the Buffy and Angel series expressed disagreement with the report on Twitter and in recent interviews. Sarah Michelle Gellar said, "I think it's a horrible idea. To try to do a Buffy without Joss Whedon... to be incredibly non-eloquent: that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard." Proposed shooting locations included Black Wood and other areas in rural England, due to budgetary constraints and the potential setting being outside of the city, an unusual change for the franchise.

Going off that, I wonder if they are still trying to go for a solo movie without any of the previous cast and writers etc?
 
^^^

If you will notice, it didn't happen, so the producers agree with you and SMG. About 20,000 screenplays are bought in Hollywood every year but only about 250 get made into movies so news of this sort is not really important. Once you get an element involved (a high-ranking producer, director or A-list star) and backing it, then it stands a better chance of happening than the 1.25% chance of a screenplay getting produced. There are a number of writers who have made a good living off Hollywood with none of their efforts actually making it to the screen. SMG also raised the point in an interview that Buffy should be done as a series with an arc lasting over a season and a movie can't really do this.
 
Ethan Reigns said:
^^^

If you will notice, it didn't happen, so the producers agree with you and SMG. About 20,000 screenplays are bought in Hollywood every year but only about 250 get made into movies so news of this sort is not really important. Once you get an element involved (a high-ranking producer, director or A-list star) and backing it, then it stands a better chance of happening than the 1.25% chance of a screenplay getting produced. There are a number of writers who have made a good living off Hollywood with none of their efforts actually making it to the screen. SMG also raised the point in an interview that Buffy should be done as a series with an arc lasting over a season and a movie can't really do this.
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a movie can't really do a lasting arc? what about a movie trilogy?
 
It's been said before in several places, just about the only thing that would not cause a rift in the fan base would be some sort of animated movie, with as many of the original cast as were available doing their own voices. Anything else should be some sort of spin off with all new characters in a completely new location. Either way would be a crap shoot, since the financial success of the venture would have to attract a whole lot larger audience than the TV show ever had.
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It's been said before in several places, just about the only thing that would not cause a rift in the fan base would be some sort of animated movie, with as many of the original cast as were available doing their own voices. Anything else should be some sort of spin off with all new characters in a completely new location. Either way would be a crap shoot, since the financial success of the venture would have to attract a whole lot larger audience than the TV show ever had.
 
Like many have said, it would be unfavorably compared to the original. Many shows are getting reboots, and the feedback seems mixed to negative in many cases.

I think sometimes the old classics need to be left alone rather than revived or having unneeded sequels 10+ years later. It would've been cool to get the old cast back together a few years after the series ended, and have a final hurrah. But now, where the cast is too old, and there'd have to be an entirely new cast...

Change is not always bad. But is always different. And many don't like things to be different when they love it so much. There's plenty of new and great actors who could be good for the characters. But sadly, it's not the originals fans came to love, and who embodied the characters when they came into existence. So even if the same characters are being played, they all feel different when it's a different actor, and different actors will have different takes on said characters. It's like the 2 moms on Fresh Prince. I think both were great. But no shock many preferred original Aunt Viv to the second one. With the actor change, so did the character. Same with the 2 Beckys on Roseanne.

Like stated, a best bet would be an animated film or series with the old cast voicing the characters. lol Because you have the issue with new live-action actors. NOT to mention special effects, where sometimes the 80's & 90's looked better because more practical things were done, and even the CGI didn't seem quite as lazy as what we sometimes get today.
 
It's been said before in several places, just about the only thing that would not cause a rift in the fan base would be some sort of animated movie, with as many of the original cast as were available doing their own voices. Anything else should be some sort of spin off with all new characters in a completely new location. Either way would be a crap shoot, since the financial success of the venture would have to attract a whole lot larger audience than the TV show ever had.
 
white avenger said:
It's been said before in several places, just about the only thing that would not cause a rift in the fan base would be some sort of animated movie, with as many of the original cast as were available doing their own voices. Anything else should be some sort of spin off with all new characters in a completely new location. Either way would be a crap shoot, since the financial success of the venture would have to attract a whole lot larger audience than the TV show ever had.
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I've always said the same about Buffy/Angel that although it's pretty popular and was a massive success for what it was and I can imagine none of theme expected it to go as far as it did and be as successful as it was, it's still very much a 'cult' following that the show has. It's still gathering more fans today, but a lot of people still haven't heard of Buffy or Angel. But having said that, when you look at similar shows that have come out over the past 10 years, they've always gained a following fairly quickly, and the same could possibly be said about any sort of reboot/continuance. It would already have fans of the originals shows to start with who would at least give it a chance to see what it was like, and as I said with shows being more ready available for people today than what they were 20 odd years ago, it can reach out to a much bigger audience.
 
I feel like a big budget Buffyverse movie would do very well in today's market.

I think David & SMG will come back if the script is right. David might like if Angel is actually human now (like in my screenplay). I need to finish my screenplay and hustle the hell out of it in Hollywood to get it in front of the right people. I am more than 3/4 of the way done, just trying to finish up the final action sequence and deciding if I really want to kill off Xander & Giles... And I use the term kill off lightly because this is the Buffyverse. It needs a lot of polishing up but I just really want to get the first draft completed.

Joss said he is done with the Avengers movies right? He probably wants to distance himself right now from big superhero movies but he should bring Buffy back again one more time while he's on this hot streak, big superhero movies are still popular and the cast is younger (and alive) than they ever will be again!
 
fauxindigo said:
I feel like a big budget Buffyverse movie would do very well in today's market.

I think David & SMG will come back if the script is right. David might like if Angel is actually human now (like in my screenplay). I need to finish my screenplay and hustle the hell out of it in Hollywood to get it in front of the right people. I am more than 3/4 of the way done, just trying to finish up the final action sequence and deciding if I really want to kill off Xander & Giles... And I use the term kill off lightly because this is the Buffyverse. It needs a lot of polishing up but I just really want to get the first draft completed.

Joss said he is done with the Avengers movies right? He probably wants to distance himself right now from big superhero movies but he should bring Buffy back again one more time while he's on this hot streak, big superhero movies are still popular and the cast is younger (and alive) than they ever will be again!
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Thing is im not sure if SMG would want the main role as Buffy now. It will obviously be the main point of her acting career I think, but I think she wants it left as it is and to leave it untouched, especially now after moving into a more entrepreneur role. I think she would definitely want some role in it though. I think most of the main cast would probably be up for reunion as such. Julie Benz said last year I think she would still be up for a come back but stated obviously Vampires don't age, which is the sticking point with at least 4 of them lol.
 
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