'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' to get reboot treatment

Warner Bros have announced their plan to make a new Buffy The Vampire Slayer film - without the involvement of original writer Joss Whedon or any of the original cast. New Buffy writer Whit Anderson spoke to the LA Times about her vision for the makeover.

"The thing that was so wonderful about Buffy is what made it special was so timeless," she said. "The deep struggle she had with duty and destiny, that tug between what you’re supposed to be doing and what you want to be doing.

"The fate of the world is on her shoulders but some days she wakes up and she just doesn’t want to do it. And are we doomed and destined to love someone? That conflict was very interesting to me."

Fans of the original TV show are up in arms about the planned reboot, describing the remake on social networks like Twitter as "cynical", "shameless", and the lack of Whedon's involvement as "disgusting".

Whedon, who is now working on Marvel Pictures' The Avengers film, wrote the screenplay for the original 1992 Buffy The Vampire Slayer film and created the TV series that ran from 1997 to 2003.

The producer of the Buffy film, Charles Roven, disagrees with the fans' stance. He described Whit’s take on the concept as "pretty compelling and a lot of fun, and it’s interesting to see all of this re-imagined. This is a completely new reboot... it needs to be relevant to today".

Whedon's fans are notoriously devoted to the writer's work - petitioning and succeeding in convincing Universial Pictures to make Serenity, a feature-length film version of the Whedon's cancelled post-Buffy TV show Firefly in 2005.

Upon hearing news of the remake Whedon commented: "This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths - just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own."

Kristin, I'm glad you asked for my thoughts on the announcement of Buffy the cinema film. This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can't think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.

Obviously I have strong, mixed emotions about something like this. My first reaction upon hearing who was writing it was, "Whit Stillman AND Wes Anderson? This is gonna be the most sardonically adorable movie EVER." Apparently I was misinformed. Then I thought, "I'll make a mint! This is worth more than all my Toy Story residuals combined!" Apparently I am seldom informed of anything. And possibly a little slow. But seriously, are vampires even popular any more?

I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don't love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I'm also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly. I can't wish people who are passionate about my little myth ill. I can, however, take this time to announce that I'm making a Batman movie. Because there's a franchise that truly needs updating. So look for The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto, rebooting into a theater near you.

Leave me to my pain! Sincerely, Joss Whedon.

Who does Warner Brothers think is going to watch this "re-imagined" mess?

Any chance Luke Perry can get in on this thing?

I can't believe anybody can summon the will to give a shit about this.

If WB put out a re-imagining of Nolan's Dark Knight entirely populated by a cast of midgets... I'd be pissed, but I wouldn't be shocked.

Original vampire slayer wants return in new 'Buffy'

Kristy Swanson, the actress who played the lead role in Buffy The Vampire Slayer before Sarah Michelle Gellar, wants to reprise her part in the upcoming reboot. Warner Bros recently announced plans to resurrect the cult TV show for a new movie – without the involvement of the show's creator Joss Whedon.

Before the TV show Whedon wrote 1992's Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie, in which Swanson took the lead. Now the actress has said she believes the franchise could survive without Whedon's involvement and is also hoping for a part in the film.

Swanson told Entertainment Weekly: "Let Buffy live; why not? If they wanted me to be a part of it, I think that would be fantastic and that it would be a blast.

"There are die-hard Joss Whedon fans, who absolutely love him to death, and rightly so. He's a brilliant man, no doubt. I love everything Buffy. I don't care who's doing it."

And, yes, vampires need to go away for at least 10 years.

'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' reboot set to be scrapped

Plans for a new full length film version of the cult TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer have been put on hold. A Hollywood reboot of the much loved comic and TV series has been in development for some time, but the project has now been put on ice after screenwriter Whit Anderson, a relatively inexperienced writer, who had been given the job of reinventing Joss Whedon's series about a teenage vampire slayer, has been dropped from the project after delivering a script that "fell far short of expectations and, in the end, was rejected completely", according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

According to the report, a new writer is being sought to take the project forward, but producers are also thought to be giving serious consideration to shelving the whole project.

Both Joss Whedon and Sarah Michelle Gellar, who portrayed the show's heroine during its successful run from 1997 to 2003, have hit out at the idea of the series being resurrected.

Whedon, who is currently working on The Avengers, said when it was announced that a reboot was in the works: "This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths, just because can’t think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself."

Gellar said: "I think it's a horrible idea. To try to do a 'Buffy' without Joss Whedon, I mean that's, like, honestly, to be incredibly non-eloquent: that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard."