Buffy The Vampire Slayer is heading back to the big screen, but without the involvement of her creator Joss Whedon.
There will be a brief pause while everyone asks themselves “What’s the point in that?”
The 1992 film’s original directors Fran Rubel Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui are looking at bringing the cult movie-turned-hit television series back to the big screen. But their new version will be a remake of the film, without any of the large supporting cast of characters from the television series or its spin-off, Angel, according to a story in the Hollywood Reporter.
While disappointing that Whedon won’t be involved, the Kuzuis are within their rights here. They are the owners of the Buffy film property, having purchased it when they bought the original feature film script from Whedon for their own production company. Although the resultant 1992 film was not a box office success, the couple were also instrumental in making the business deal to get Buffy launched as a series on the fledgling WB network. Although by all accounts, the Kuzuis had no further involvement with the series except to cash their paychecks for serving as executive producers.
If you think that the exclusion of the film’s original writer is no big deal, then you just aren’t familiar with the circumstances surrounding Buffy The Vampire Slayer. If you have ever read Whedon’s version of the feature film script or seen the resultant television series, you get a much truer idea of what Whedon had in mind for the character than if you have just seen the film version. Whedon mixed horror and comedy, where the Kuzui’s direction on the film missed the mark on both. For fans, Whedon’s distinct writing voice is as much an integral part of the franchise as any singular character.
Here’s hoping someone puts a stake through the heart of this idea before it progresses too much further.
