Buffy Reborn

So it’s been announced that a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer is in the works.  Not so fast.  Despite the jumping for joy most Buffy fans wanted to do when they heard (myself included), this is unfortunately not a film version of the oh-so-popular, influential, smart, funny, action-packed show that helped evolve television series’ into the more respectable and thoughtful pieces of entertainment they’ve come to be sometimes.

Nope.  Instead, we the audience will apparently be getting a new and refreshed take on the story of the original BtVS movie.Not so much interested in the jumping up and down for joy anymore, are ya?  Of course you might be thinking, “hey, that’s okay, as long as Joss Whedon is doing it it’ll be great!”  Think again.  No Joss Whedon this time around.I think the above is about the same look I got on my face when I found all this out.

But you know what?  Then I let it go.  Yes, there’s a lot about this that makes me want to cry “shenanigans!”  On the other hand, the only movie I’d want to see that’s based off the television series would be a continuation of the show, which Joss is/was doing in comic form.  (Sorry to the major fans; I don’t know if past or present tense is appropriate because I can’t do comic books.  Watchmen was the only one I ever got through, and that’s, well, Watchmen.)  As far as I’m concerned, a continuation would mean the same characters played by the same actors, with the same creator at the helm.  Take away any of those elements and that’s just sacrilege, so in that respect Warner Bros. is doing it right by taking it back to the beginning and re-imagining, rebooting, whatever.

Also, though the fan in me would still like to see Joss doing this movie,  he already made Buffy the awesomeness that she was in TV form.  A true re-imagining of the story would probably need a new imagination to create it.  One could argue that he was able to make two totally different Buffy’s between the original film and series, but let’s not kid ourselves: the original Buffy movie was taken too much out of Joss’ hands for we plebeians to know how much that Buffy matched TV Buffy.  And frankly I’m satisfied and pleased with the TV Buffy as she was.  I’d rather watch the show over and over again (which I do)  than see Joss take a potential step backwards by starting the whole thing over in film form.

I don’t condone the fact that Warner Bros. is doing this movie.  It hasn’t even been a full twenty years since the original movie came out, and since it didn’t do very well this whole thing rings of little more than a desire to cash in on the recent resurgence of vampirephilia (sarcastic thank you to the Twilight series).  Nonetheless, if they’re going to do it, I think I’d rather see something brand new that we can try to sink our teeth into, and that’s what they’re doing.  Truthfully I don’t care whether it does well or not.  I’m just glad that since they’re not bringing TV Buffy back to life, they’re giving her a totally new one.

Would be nice if they’d at least gotten the Whedon stamp of approval, though.  He is the expert and the genius behind it all.  But as he said, no legal grounds for him to do anything about it.  I agree that Buffy needs a reboot just about as much as Batman does. 😉  Actually, seeing Batman in his creative hands is something I’d certainly pay money for…