Undeveloped Buffyverse productions
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The fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel, has had a strong cultural impact and a loyal fan base, and the creator Joss Whedon has been widely recognised as a talent within the entertainment industry. This has led to attempts to develop more on-screen ventures in the fictional 'Buffyverse'. However some of these projects remain undeveloped for various reasons: Sometimes vital cast members may be unavailable. Alternatively studios and networks which would provide capital for such projects might remain unconvinced that such projects are financially viable.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
A summary of the undeveloped productions:
| Image | Undeveloped Buffyverse productions | Idea first publicly revealed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Corrupt (unaired Angel episode) | 1999 | |||
| Corrupt was originally intended as the second Angel episode, but the script was replaced due to the dark tone of the story. | |||||
 |
Buffy the Animated Series | 2002 | |||
| Buffy the Animated Series was an undeveloped animated TV show based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. | |||||
 |
Ripper | 2002 | |||
| Based upon the life of the character of Rupert Giles in England. | |||||
 |
Slayer School | 2003 | |||
| The show might have used some of the Potentials who had become slayers after the Buffy finale. | |||||
 |
Faith the Vampire Slayer | 2003 | |||
| Tim Minear was behind an unfulfilled idea for a Buffy spinoff in 2003 featuring Eliza Dushku as the popular antihero slayer Faith. | |||||
 |
Spike | 2004 | |||
| Spike is a proposed movie based upon the character | |||||
[edit] Buffy the Animated Series
- Main article: Buffy the Animated Series
Buffy the Animated Series was an undeveloped animated TV show based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Development began on the show in 2001 and the series was initially greenlit by 20th Century Fox in 2002. Six scripts were completed by members of Mutant Enemy and in 2004 a four minute presentation was produced (which was distributed only within the industry). However it went ultimately unproduced and unaired when no network was willing to buy the series.
[edit] Corrupt (unaired Angel episode)
- Main article: Corrupt
Corrupt was originally intended as the second Angel episode. The story used dark and adult themes. The script written by David Fury: included the character, Kate Lockley as a drug-addicted cop deep under cover as a prostitute, and also included Angel tasting the blood of a victim. The production was abandoned, and instead the 'lighter' episode, "Lonely Hearts" was written and produced.
[edit] Faith the Vampire Slayer
Tim Minear was behind an idea for a Buffy spinoff in 2003 featuring Eliza Dushku as the popular antihero slayer Faith. Instead, Dushku would go on to star as the main character in the series Tru Calling.
- IGN asked Eliza Dushku about the Faith spinoff:
-
- IGNFF: I heard they were actually devising a Faith spin-off for you. Why did you decide not to go that route?
-
- DUSHKU: The idea for the Faith spin-off just kind of came up in discussion because everyone really, I think, was feeling like this show's going to end and there are all these fans who love it so much and who love these characters and so, if possible, how could we extend that? I just personally felt like... It would have been a really hard thing to do, and not that I wouldn't have been up for a challenge, but with it coming on immediately following the show, I think that those would have been really big boots to fill. I think it would have been compared to Buffy. And just in terms of me, I've played that character on and off for five years now and I've changed a lot and while the character of Faith changed when I came back because I've changed, I felt like maybe it was time to... I mean, I love Faith. She's my girl and she's been really good to me, but I kind of just wanted to try something else. Purely that, because it had nothing to do with me not trusting Joss and his team of writers, who I just think are amazing. Tim Minear and Drew Goddard and Marti Noxon and all these people, they're so talented and it had nothing to do with me doubting that they could make this show amazing, but I just... I don't know, sometimes you have to go with your gut, and my gut was telling me that I maybe needed to try something else that was just different.[1]
- Tim Minear explained some of the details about the spinoff and reasons why it did not happen:
-
- "I had come up with a pitch. Eliza was gracious, kind and wonderful, but she felt like she wanted to do something new. There is no hard feelings there. But the show was basically going to be Faith meets Kung Fu. It would have been Faith, probably on a motorcycle, crossing the earth, trying to find her place in the world. I'm sure it would get an arc at some point, but the idea of her rooted somewhere seemed wrong to me. The idea of her constantly on the move seemed right to be. And she broke out of prison (on Angel) so there would have been some people after her."[2]
[edit] Ripper
| Ripper | |
|---|---|
 Giles in England in the Buffy episode, "Lessons" |
|
| Genre | drama |
| Creator(s) | Joss Whedon |
| Starring | Anthony Stewart Head |
| Country of origin | USA/UK |
| No. of episodes | 0 |
| Production | |
| Running time | n/a |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC/Other |
| Picture format | n/a |
Ripper was originally a proposed television show based upon the character of Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (created by Joss Whedon). More recent information has suggested that if Ripper were ever made it would be a TV-movie or a DVD-movie.[3] Giles, played by British actor Anthony Stewart Head, was nicknamed 'Ripper' while he was dabbling in the occult during his rebellious youth.
Whedon said that that the show would be in the tradition of "classic English ghost stories" and would explore the theme of loneliness. Head described the idea as being like "Cracker with ghosts";[4] Cracker was a successful and critically-acclaimed British television drama about the work of a criminal psychologist that had run on the ITV network in the early 1990s. Whedon elaborated on some the themes he had planned for the series: "The people who live there, it's all very isolated. [Giles] himself has been gone for many years. He was surrounded by a de facto family that he no longer has. And [he is] sort of picking up his life all alone, and then getting involved in the underbelly of other people's lives, and finding out all about them. Loneliness is what I think of. It may not be the theme so much as the emotional intent of the series, but that's what really attracts it to me the most"[5] It was later reported that Whedon had written the two-hour pilot, and that Espenson and other Buffy staff writers had penned story outlines for other potential episodes.[6]
Originally in 2001, the show was planned to be aired as a miniseries on the BBC. Later mentions suggested a TV movie, however in an interview in December 2005, Head suggested that Ripper would be a "two hour movie, that might become part of a series of [Buffyverse] DVDs".[7] Whedon is presently involved in Goners, Runaways, and Buffy Season 8, so as of 2007, there are still no concrete plans for Ripper.
[edit] Slayer School
Jane Espenson has said that back when the series Buffy was nearing its end, "I think Marti talked with Joss about Slayer School, I assume there was some back-and-forth pitching."[8]
Espenson revealed more information when she gave a talk at Ball State University in March 2003. The show might have used some of the Potentials (who became slayers after "Chosen"), and other characters from Buffy, which might have included Willow Rosenberg. Espenson also revealed that Whedon did not think that such a spinoff felt right.[9] It seems that the concept for "Slayer School" was never developed beyond a 'pitch' for a potential spin-off to replace Buffy.
[edit] Spike movie
| Spike | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Tim Minear |
| Written by | Tim Minear Joss Whedon |
| Starring | James Marsters Amy Acker |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | 2007 |
| Language | English |
Spike was a proposed movie based upon the character of Spike from Buffy & Angel. The existence of such a project is currently in question.
Originally, the show was hoped to be made as a TV movie. However it is possible that if the project is greenlit, it may be a DVD-movie.
[edit] Production details
After Angel was cancelled in 2004, WB claimed an interest in Angel TV movies. However it was soon revealed that summer, that David Boreanaz, who had already played the character for eight years on television, would only return to his character for a theatrical release.[10]
In May 2004, James Marsters, the actor who had portrayed the character Spike, revealed that there might be a possibility of a Spike movie. [11] The same year he said that he would be willing to return to the Buffyverse if it were within five years. Beyond that five years he feared that it would no longer be believable that Marsters was portraying an immortal character.[12]
Since 2004 Whedon has been working on other projects, such as Serenity, Wonder Woman, and Goners. However he has approached people and asked if they would be interested in participating in the Spike movie. He has said that Amy Acker would be a part of the movie, and if Alyson Hannigan was available she might appear.[13] Whedon has even mentioned he might interlink the Spike story with that yet to be told in Buffy comics he will be writing for Dark Horse in 2007.[14]
Tim Minear revealed in late 2005 that “I had lunch with Joss and he asked me if I wanted to write and direct some blond vampire movie thing”. [15]
David Janollari, president of entertainment at The WB said in January 2006 that "We'd love to do a Spike movie with Joss Whedon." However he added that "Joss Whedon is busy, fast becoming a kind of a big feature filmmaker. He's simply not available to us. But he knows, and you guys all know, the door is open any time that he wants to do that, for us to do that movie."[16]
Since then Whedon has continued to pursue the Spike movie, and find interested parties that would air and/or produce the film led by Minear, and starring Marsters and Acker. During March 2006, Whedon appeared on the UK TV Channel, MTV Screenplay, he announced he was still trying to get the Spike movie made.[17] In May 2006, outside the Saturn Awards, Whedon announced that he had pitched the concept to various bodies (which must include 20th Century Fox, since they own the rights to the fictional Buffyverse), but had yet to receive any feedback from those bodies.[18] Amy Acker said at a convention in May of 2006 that the Spike movie would not be happening: “I think its safe to say that’s not happening anymore, cause if they were, they’d be getting done right now. There was supposed to be three of them –- one for Spike, a Faith one and also one for Willow. I think it's safe to say that now because its not going to happen”.[19] In June 2006, Joss Whedon also said that funding was a problem: "There are certain characters I’ve been saving because I thought I might make movies about them, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. I think money is standing in the way".[20]
Fans of the work by Joss Whedon continue to help encourage the making of a Spike movie. Using sites like Supportspike.com they hope to help convince TV networks and the media that there is great demand for a Spike movie.
[edit] Writing and acting
- Tim Minear would primarily write and direct with support of Whedon.
- The cast would include James Marsters as Spike, Amy Acker as Illyria, and possibly Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg.
[edit] Story and continuity
- Whedon has indicated that the comics would take place after "the end of Buffy and Angel", and indicated that the Spike movie would take place around the same time.[21]
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Uk.filmforce.ign.com - Page 2 of an interview with Eliza Dushku
- ^ Femme Fatale, May/June 2003. (details archived online here. The information from this interview is also reviwed by the BBC, and by Whedonesquers)
- ^ Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine #80, (UK, December 2005), p19
- ^ Giles Series will be "Cracker with Ghosts.". bbc.co.uk (2001-06-04). Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- ^ "Owner of a Lonely Heart", from Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine #26 (UK, October 2001)
- ^ "A Rest for Ripper", from Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine #32 (UK, April 2002), page 6.
- ^ Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine #80, (UK, December 2005), p19
- ^ Bbc.co.uk - Jane Espenson mentions the potential spinoff, "Slayer School".
- ^ Aintitcool.com - Espenson's talk at a University reveals more details about Slayer School (also discussed by the BBC)
- ^ TV Guide - Boreanaz only wished to return to the Buffyverse for a theatrical film, August 2004
- ^ Whedonesque.com - Marsters is indirectly quoted about the possibility of a Spike movie, May 2004
- ^ Journalnow.com - Marsters agrees he would be willing to portray Spike in a movie, if it was made within five years.
- ^ Tvguide.com - Whedon reveals that Minear, Marsters, Acker, and possibly even Hannigan might be a part of the movie.
- ^ Whedonesque.com - Whedon reveals the Spike movie might tie-in with Buffy comics
- ^ Whedonesque.com - Tim Minear announces he would write and direct the Spike movie.
- ^ Scifi.com - WB accept they want a Spike movie if Whedon writes/directs
- ^ Whedonesque.com - Whedon appeared on MTV screenplay and announced he was trying to get the Spike movie made, March 2006
- ^ Whedonesque.com - Whedon announces he has pitched the Spike movie, February 15th 2006
- ^ Syfyportal.com - Amy Acker confirms that the project will not be going ahead.
- ^ Wizard Universe - Whedon says that "money is standing in the way" of the project.
- ^ Whedonesque.com - Whedon reveals that both the Spike movie and the Buffy comics would take place after Angel Season 5.
[edit] External links
[edit] Buffy the Animated Series
- See larger list of links for this undeveloped production here
- Rapidshare.de- download link for ZIP file which archives news stories, interviews and artwork relating to Buffy the Animated Series (from 2003-2004)
- Buffyanimated.com - Fan site, January 2005
- Ericwight.com - Art work related to the halted project, 2004
- Smgfan.com - Interview with Eric Wight, March 2003.
- Bbc.co.uk - Interview with Jeph Loeb, June 2004
- Mikejozic.com - Interview with Espenson and Eric Wight, 2004
[edit] Corrupt
- Rapidshare.de - 150kb Download of "Corrupt" draft by David Fury (.doc file)
- Teaattheford.net - Discussion of Lonely Hearts including views on "Corrupt" from Fury and Contner
- Teaattheford.net - Discussion of "Corrupt"
[edit] Faith the Vampire Slayer
- Uk.filmforce.ign.com - Page 2 of an interview with Eliza Dushku
- Femme Fatale, May/June 2003. (details archived online here. The information from this interview is also reviwed by the BBC, and by Whedonesquers)
- ifmagazine.com - Marti Noxon talks about "Faith" series (July 2006)
[edit] Ripper
- BBC.co.uk - BBC 5 live radio - Joss Whedon interview. Rapidshare.de - download of sound clip - February 2006
- Slayonline.co.uk - Anthony Stewart Head Talks About Ripper and Buffy Animated - 2004
[edit] Slayer School
- Bbc.co.uk - Jane Espenson mentions the potential spinoff, "Slayer School".
- Aintitcool.com - Espenson's talk at a University reveals more details about Slayer School
[edit] Spike movie
- Supportspike.com - The site hopes to help convince TV networks and the media that there is great demand for a Spike movie. It has information on how to contact TV networks and other parties that have influence on whether or not the Spike movie gets made.
- Whedonesque.com - Tim Minear announces he would write and direct the Spike movie.
- Whedonesque.com - Whedon announces he has pitched the Spike movie, May 2006(Video download of the interview)
