SMG on returning to Buffy

[chasesummers]

So recently if I'm not mistaken SMG was again asked about returning to Buffy.
According to the celeb-news she said:

"Buffy was [already] a movie. See, I think people forget that," she told US TV show Access Hollywood. "Buffy was a movie first, and I don't know if you guys know this, but it didn't really work!"

"We spent our whole first year or two apologizing for the movie. So, I think it would be an incredibly different pressure . . . Plus, I'm a little old now. I feel like Buffy would have a wooden stake walker. I'm not quite sure how that would work."

OK...
1) In Buffy-verse, Slayers age. They are not immortals, they are not like the vampires.

2) Let's not forget that fans have grew with the show... speaking for myself, I would love to see a more mature Buffy now, being a role model for us, the Slayers.

3) How can SMG be too old to play Buffy when Buffy herself is 33 and Sarah is 36?

4) Again with the wooden stake walker thing, you're not handicap or physically weak at 36!


It's very understandable how she feels, we are our worst critics at the end.
She might be worried that she won't be able to pull off the fight scenes, that she won't be relatable, that she is too ''old''.

Speaking in general from my personal experience, when you do something which was a big part of your life in the past, as good as it was, as rewarding and amazing, sometimes you just don't want to return to it, the chapter has been closed and thats that, so if this is the case, its also very understandable.

Saying that ''it won't work'', ''I'm too old'', beating round the bush just bothers me. I don't expect anything from anyone, if Sarah doesn't want to return (which is a different story) than it's said and done. I'm very proud of the show and her personal work.

It would pain me to see the show be recreated and handed over to a younger generation with incredibly blank actors without a final contribution from the original cast.

...but I digress! 🙂
How do you guys feel about this?

 

[Fuffy Baith]

She's definitely not to old. I've seen actors that play teenagers who were playing teens 10 years ago. If you look the part(and they don't always do) then your age doesn't matter.

Also I think that other things play a factor. Depending on how much Joss is involved and if the script were good and scheduling issues worked out, much of the original cast would come back. I've heard a lot of the actors say they would only do it if Joss was in full control. since he's off doing Marvel, that's not going to happen.

If the script made sense then I would be fine with a movie.

 

[thetopher]

Absolutely, I think she looks great on 'the Crazy Ones', age is not an issue. Maybe she means physically, as in the stunts/fighting stuff? Maybe she doesn't feel up to it in that way- the time it would take to get in shape for the role. (get fitter, build muscle tone, etc.)

Basically SMG has said that if Joss was involved and the script was right, she would put reservations aside and come back for more Buffy. 🙂

I'm not sure a movie would work though, With a returning Buffy you've got to spent time setting up all the characters, their relationships and romances, show how much things have moved on or stayed constant. Then you've got to have an engaging, worthwhile plot (probably apocalyse-y), plus action scenes...It would be a pretty crammed movie and would probably leave a lot of fans unsatisfied.

A mini-series, say on Netflix, would be a lot better. Make it a mini-season, like S1, give all the characters some screen time, shows the way they still play off each other. 🙂

 

[white avenger]

We've heard the "It was already a movie," excuse before, and now Sarah adds the fact that she feels that she's too old to play the part anymore. With whatever excuses and denials she can come up with, I honestly think, and I hasten to repeat, this is MY opinion, whether anyone else agrees or not, that the real answer is that she simply doesn't want to play the part again. Buffy is something that she has tried to put behind her and move on to other roles, with varying, but always less that spectacular, results. Going back to Buffy now, either as a movie, TV show, miniseries, or direct to DVD project would be tantamount to saying that she just can't play anything else with hat degree of success.

 

[Still a Scoobie]

Yeah she just doesn't want to be Buffy any more. This attitude from actors always baffles me but ultimately that's her decision and no-one's going to change her mind (except maybe Joss) so you have to respect it.

 

[thetopher]

SMG has also said, a couple of times now, that she'd consider reprising her Buffy role if 1) Joss was involved. and 2) The script/timing was right.

I know fans love to 'read between the lines' or whatever, to get to the truth. But I'll stick to lstening to what the actress actually says. 🙂

Also, its all pretty relative, success-wise. SMG has had a shot at two starring tv series. And a passel of film roles. But Buffy is kind of an iconic character- (kind of like Tom Baker being known mainly for Doctor Who), I'm not sure SMG cares if she's known only for that one role. (Although I'm sure she appreciates fan-recognition for any of her roles.)
A few Buffy cast have gone on to do well (Alyson Hannigan, DB, AA, Eliza Dushku, Seth Green and a few others.) Most haven't been as fortunate, JM (Which, given the quality of his acting, really mystify's me.) Nick Brendon, Charisma Carpenter.

SMG has strongly defended 'Buffy' as a show and as a character in the past, saying that she's been immensly proud of the show and being a part of it. Being known for one role isn't so bad, just depends on the role. 🙂

 

[tkts]

I think Joss could pull it off, but when it comes to thinking of Buffy returning to the screen in some way, my first thought is "be careful what you wish for." Sometimes a good thing is better off ending where it was planned to end, and, much like Zombie Joyce, you don't know what will come out of the ground if it's resurrected.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

SMG has also said, a couple of times now, that she'd consider reprising her Buffy role if 1) Joss was involved. and 2) The script/timing was right.

I know fans love to 'read between the lines' or whatever, to get to the truth. But I'll stick to lstening to what the actress actually says. 🙂

No offence but that's a terrible idea.

Actors are spin machines, you'll never get the proper answer from them and Sarah is a pro.

Your right she has said she'd return "if the story was right" but seeing how the story never ended, the show only ended cuz she quit, and Joss has continued the story in comics, the story has never been the issue. She just has no interest.

 

[thetopher]

We know why the series ended. The answer is Season 6 of Buffy.

It's well known that SMG hated her story line in that season. (she always thought as Buffy as a role-model, a flawed character yes, but still somebody girls could still look up to as she struggled. After Spuffy she no longer thought that.)
Afterwards, she decided not to renew her two year contract. So that's why Buffy ended. SMG might easily decide that she wants to revisit the character. In other words, she can regain her interest in the character at any time.
My main point is that she doesn't seem to regret anything about Buffy or the way it ended. (I actually think the show ended at just the right time.)

It's true that SMG must be sick of answering the same question over and over, so some 'spin' might be called for when it comes to answering. If she never wants to do Buffy again, I'm cool with that.
And Joss has said that he would throw the comics canon out the window if the right oppurtunity with an idea/storyline and the original cast were available. That isn't an impedament to something coming about.

Since I like the comics, I don't think this would be a good thing, but some fans are of a different opinion. I'm content with the comics.

 

[AndrewCrossett]

Can someone provide a link to the article where she said she'd return under any circumstances? She may have said it, but I don't remember it.

I remember her saying when the non-Joss reboot movie was being discussed a few years ago that it would be a terrible idea to do a Buffy movie without Joss... but I've never heard her straight-out say she herself is open to the idea of playing Buffy again.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

We know why the series ended. The answer is Season 6 of Buffy.

It's well known that SMG hated her story line in that season. (she always thought as Buffy as a role-model, a flawed character yes, but still somebody girls could still look up to as she struggled. After Spuffy she no longer thought that.)
Afterwards, she decided not to renew her two year contract. So that's why Buffy ended. SMG might easily decide that she wants to revisit the character. In other words, she can regain her interest in the character at any time.
My main point is that she doesn't seem to regret anything about Buffy or the way it ended. (I actually think the show ended at just the right time.)

Still doesn't change the fact that the show ended cuz she quit not becasue the creator decided the story was over.

Can someone provide a link to the article where she said she'd return under any circumstances? She may have said it, but I don't remember it.

I remember her saying when the non-Joss reboot movie was being discussed a few years ago that it would be a terrible idea to do a Buffy movie without Joss... but I've never heard her straight-out say she herself is open to the idea of playing Buffy again.

"Joss and I always talk about [a movie]"¦but the thing with Buffy is that Buffy was a movie, and it ultimately didn't work as a film. And I mean, we had such miles to overcome when we were trying to do a TV show based on a movie. And one of the reasons is that the story works better over time." And then came the kicker: "If there was ever the right story, we would do it."
http://www.avclub.com/article/sarah-michelle-gellar-would-return-as-ibuffy-the-v-101070

 

[thetopher]

It was at a Buffy reunion ('Paleyfest'?) while she's sitting next to Joss.

The whole things on Youtube- just type in 'Buffy reunion'.

 

[BuffyElevated]

We've heard the "It was already a movie," excuse before, and now Sarah adds the fact that she feels that she's too old to play the part anymore. With whatever excuses and denials she can come up with, I honestly think, and I hasten to repeat, this is MY opinion, whether anyone else agrees or not, that the real answer is that she simply doesn't want to play the part again. Buffy is something that she has tried to put behind her and move on to other roles, with varying, but always less that spectacular, results. Going back to Buffy now, either as a movie, TV show, miniseries, or direct to DVD project would be tantamount to saying that she just can't play anything else with hat degree of success.

Exactly. Sarah just doesn't want to play the part again. And in a way I can understand this, because no one wants to be defined by 1 thing they've done in their life, but at the same time I feel like her attitude toward Buffy is really uncalled for. She sometimes acts like she's ashamed of having been Buffy. :\

 

[Blaze]

First off, the age thing is a non-factor in my opinion. Hugh Jackman is 45 and playing this monster beast of a character (that is also not suppose to age), and he has no problem getting into shape for it.

I totally get that SMG doesn't want to come back to Buffy, plain and simple. I believe we'll never see such movie, even Joss seem to have given up on Buffy, I don't think he's interested in making a movie.

To be honest, at this point and time I'd be scared that things wouldn't translate well on camera. I could see how SMG wouldn't want to ruin something that she has done so perfectly in the past. Making a movie/mini series is a pretty big risk, and the way BtVS ended + the comics, a movie isn't necessary (unlike Firefly for example, that could really use the movie). I'm not against the idea, I'd love to have more Buffy, but I just don't think it will happen.

---------- Post added at 09:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:54 AM ----------

Exactly. Sarah just doesn't want to play the part again. And in a way I can understand this, because no one wants to be defined by 1 thing they've done in their life, but at the same time I feel like her attitude toward Buffy is really uncalled for. She sometimes acts like she's ashamed of having been Buffy. :\

I might have agreed with this a while ago, but lately it seems that SMG is really embracing her role as Buffy, which has been awesome!

I agree though, that she just doesn't want to play the part again, or else the movie would have been made a while ago. I'm also pretty sure that if Sarah said yes, most of the other actors would fallow.

 

[chasesummers]

As to October 2013, Joss Whedon apparently isn't looking to get into Buffy again either...

EW conducted an insanely long interview with Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, who talks about everything under the sun from Avengers to using Kickstarter to get "Buffy" or "Firefly" back in action. The news on the latter won't make fans happy"¦

When asked if fans should give up on wanting to reboot "Firefly", Whedon replied: "I came out publicly when the "˜Veronica Mars' Kickstarter thing happened to relay that because, right now, it can't be done. Everybody's working"”thank God.

"I have often said I would love to get the crew back together. There's another side of that," he adds. "There's the Monkey's Paw fear of even if it's just as good, it won't be as good, because it will be just as good, and it's already been new, so you won't have that. Now everybody is like, "˜Are you going to remake "˜Buffy?' Are you going to Kickstarter?' My blanket answer is "˜No.'

"It's not a question I'm interested in hearing again, which is why I quit my other job"”Twitter," he jokes leaving fans' hopes and dreams crushed "“ I say that without any ill intent as I applaud Whedon for sticking to his guns and getting it out there immediately So many celebrities relish the attention, and continually stoke the flames with an insanely frustrating "who knows?"

 

[Ethan Reigns]

SMG's career may be compared to William Shatner. He was born yesterday (no kidding - his birthday is March 22 but in 1931). He started playing roles in 1951 as a crook in "The Butler's night Off" and actually was in a Canadian TV series called Space Command that aired in 1953 only with 33 half-hour episodes (and one of his fellow actors in the series was James Doohan). He is still working - but he is mainly remembered for being in the last 79 of the 80 episodes of Star Trek. That is what he will be remembered for all his life. So a career that started in 1951 and is still ongoing will be remembered for the one acting credit from 1966 to 1969 even though he has 216 acting credits.

The fact that he was the most iconic character in the greatest space opera franchise ever has not diminished his capacity to perform anything else. And he was in the series of Star Trek movies except for the latest covering the early years.

SMG will always be remembered for the 144 episodes of Buffy even though she has 47 acting credits in a career that has not been A-list but is definitely respectable. I don't think she will ever surpass (or even approach) her glory days as Buffy.

But unlike Star Trek, which is an action / adventure series, Buffy has been boxed into a corner. I can't think of a story line that wouldn't seem like a double episode of the TV series. They have had every interesting permutation and combination of demons, threats, apocalypses and unlike Star Trek, there isn't the action / adventure aspect of the series to hold people's attention other than maybe the 10,000+ people on this forum. Anything that departs too much from the series would seem like "Buffy Meets Godzilla" or some such farce.

So no, I think the Buffy ship has sailed. Some opportunities exist for a limited time only and this this is one that has gone. I don't accept SMG's excuses at face value, but I still think it is the right decision.

 

[Lyri]

SMG was scared of being type cast. And you know what? She was right to be scared.

Like [MENTION=12171]Ethan Reigns[/MENTION] said, she's always going to be Buffy. She was the face of arguably one of the biggest female icons of the 90's/00's and that is why, I feel, that she pulled away from Buffy after she finished. She wanted to distance herself from the franchise as much as possible and she tried out for darker roles.

But it didn't work. The director of 'The Grudge' made her do a scene over and over and over again, tiring her out completely, because he said she was 'running like a superhero'. Even HE couldn't see past Buffy and had to wear her down to the bone to get what he wanted from her with regards to the character and the script.

SMG also put her family first before a lot of roles. She was gone for a while before Ringer and we know she's a very private person, especially where her kids are concerned.

Lately, I think she's changed. She's mellowed as she's felt more comfortable in her life and she's embraced BtVS as being a positive thing in her life - but that still doesn't mean she'll ever want to return to it. And fair play to her.

A lot of people would call her a sell-out or a has-been if she DID decided to go back to Buffy, complaining that she's only doing it because she doesn't have any better offers or is running out of cash, or wants to relive her glory days. A lot of people who go back do get stuck with that label - Shatner himself got some stick because he suggested that he have a cameo in the new Star Trek reboot, like Nimoy.

I like SMG a lot, I think she's a wonderful person, a fantastic actress and a brilliant wife and mother, but I'm glad that she's sticking to her guns when it comes to Buffy and playing her again.

The comics have really put me off any sort of continuation anyway.