I got season 1-4 of Buffy for Christmas and have been rewatching them. I couldn’t help but start to think about what I would like to see from (as I still think it’s inevitable) the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie.
Some things I would like:
Oz to come back in a major way, and given his continuing participation in the DVD special features I think he would likely agree to do it.
Drusilla as the main villain. I would like to see her storyline wrapped up once and for all.
The consequences of the series finale addressed.
Depending on what happens on Angel I wouldn’t mind seeing him and Spike making an appearance. But my potential enjoyment of the movie would not hinge on this.
These are some of the things I would like to see. Now my question to other fans of the series is: What do you want to see from a BTVS movie? Also, how likely do other people think a movie is?
What I chiefly want from a Buffy movie is for it to not exsist. Buffy was a great TV show: one of the greatest. But its over. As much as I loved it, it needs to stay buried. Just like Joyce in “Forever,” trying to bring Buffy back from the dead would only result in a horrible, reanimated corpse bearing only passing resemblence to the thing we used to love. Kinda like the last two season of the TV show, actually.
Besides which, what I want most if for Joss Whedon to not become one of those sf/fantasy writers who only ever has one good idea, and keeps going back to that well long after its run dry and is only yielding up buckets of mud. (viz: George Lucas or Gene Roddenberry) I want to see the next cool thing Joss thinks up, not endless iterations of the last cool thing Joss thought up.
Not that I’m too worried about that. I don’t think there’ll ever be another Buffy movie. Maybe another TV show, someday, but not a movie.
Agreed that another Buffy movie would be a bad idea. If the Slayer concept is continued on film, I’d want to see it focus on wrapping up Faith’s storyline (unless she appears on Angel or in her own show). No Buffy at all, except possibly a cameo and/or a death scene.
I’d actually like to see a Buffy movie to act as a better closure to the whole series than the last two seasons of the show were. The problem is that I don’t really see how they could pack all the charm of the show into a two hour movie. I don’t doubt that Joss could pull it off if he were to write and/or direct, but I personally can’t visualize a Buffy storyarc fit entirely into a movie withou sacrificing a lot of the Buffy feel.
That said, I’d love to see the return of Oz. Have him and Willow end up together forever, and mention in passing how Kennedy died a slow, painful, and terrible death shortly after the events of Chosen.
I despise Spike with every fiber of my being, but I suppose he’d have to show up, and I’d probably stick Angel in there, too, as long as there weren’t 1000 characters running around. I’d definitely leave out most of the new Slayers (unless a new one served as a villain or something), Andrew, Principal Wood, Faith, and anyone else who cluttered up the place too much. In fact, a return to the core Scoobs would be a cool premise for the movie.
Unfortunately, I imagine they’d make as little use of Xander as they did in the last few seasons of the show. If he served any role other than funnyman and moral support for Buffy now that there’s no Anya, I’d be shocked. I would like to see what’s become of Dawn in the midst of all of this. I imagine she’d have to finish high school at some point.
I can see where some would not want a movie at this point. After all, the show has only been over for less than a year. But imagine 5+ years down the road, you hear they have started production on a Buffy movie…could you really say that you would not be excited that far down the road? I really can’t imagine that.
Even thouigh they went through 7 seasons of the show I still think there are truely great and epic stories left to tell. There are loose ends to wrap up. There is a greater story to complete. After all of the work they did in the TV show they have earned the right to, at the very least attempt to, translate it to the big screen.
I have to respectfully disagree with the speculation that to bring Buffy to the big screen would be a disaster. I have faith in the abilities of everyone involved. I believe that they would not allow it to become a shadow or a mutation of their original vision. I think that a film would be handled well and could add something special to the overall story for the fans.
I also have to disagree with the majority opinion that season 6 was crap. I happen to love season 6, in fact it is my favorite. I’m willing to concede that season 7, for the most part, sucked…but not season 6. Ok, I’m rambling…
I think that everything Rythefly said is right on target.
I think a Buffy film will definitely happen…just not for a long time.
Sarah Michelle Gellar will never become a big “movie star”…she’ll eventually return to series TV, like most television personalities eventually do. In a good, 10-12 years, he career will be dying for a big movie hit. Then she’ll be jumping at the chance for a highly anticipated movie with a built-in audience…and a lucrative payday for Ms. Gellar.
I just think that Joss’s vision could easily be translated to the b
I think that everything Rythefly said is right on target.
I think a Buffy film will definitely happen…just not for a long time.
Sarah Michelle Gellar will never become a big “movie star”…she’ll eventually return to series TV, like most television personalities eventually do. In a good, 10-12 years, her career will be dying for a big movie hit. Then she’ll be jumping at the chance for a highly anticipated movie with a built-in audience…and a lucrative payday for Ms. Gellar.
I think that Joss Whedon’s vision could easily be translated to the big screen. I mean, how many episode can we name that seemed like mini-movies in themselves? (The Body, Once More with Feeling)
The film will have to walk a fine tightrope…it can’t pander too much to it’s fan base that it seems like a TV reunion movie. It needs to stay cinematic & epic. And if anyone could pull that off, Joss Whedon could.
I also think Angel & Spike should be kept on the back burner. I wouldn’t dip too deeply into the well with that one, it’s so complex it should probably be the focus to the second film. Keep their appearance to a minimum…maybe a quick cameo just hinting at what they’re up to these days.
The stars of this film should be the scooby gang, with Wesley play a large part. (Now that Wes has undergone the opposite transformation that Giles went through…Wesley went from prissy to being the Ripper, Giles visa-verca…what would their relationship be like?)
Anyways, studio would easy finance something with a built in audience. We just have to wait for Joss’s career to evolve. He’ll want to have other successes under his belt, so it doesn’t look like he’s just running back to Buffy, 'cause it’s a sure thing)
My last post got clipped, so now I’m sending the "Extended Edition
I think that everything Rythefly said is right on target.
I think a Buffy film will definitely happen…just not for a long time.
Sarah Michelle Gellar will never become a big “movie star”…she’ll eventually return to series TV, like most television personalities eventually do. In a good, 10-12 years, her career will be dying for a big movie hit. Then she’ll be jumping at the chance for a highly anticipated movie with a built-in audience…and a lucrative payday for Ms. Gellar.
I think that Joss Whedon’s vision could easily be translated to the big screen. I mean, how many episode can we name that seemed like mini-movies in themselves? (The Body, Once More with Feeling)
The film will have to walk a fine tightrope…it can’t pander too much to it’s fan base that it seems like a TV reunion movie. It needs to stay cinematic & epic. And if anyone could pull that off, Joss Whedon could.
I also think Angel & Spike should be kept on the back burner. I wouldn’t dip too deeply into the well with that one, it’s so complex it should probably be the focus to the second film. Keep their appearance to a minimum…maybe a quick cameo just hinting at what they’re up to these days.
The stars of this film should be the scooby gang, with Wesley play a large part. (Now that Wes has undergone the opposite transformation that Giles went through…Wesley went from prissy to being the Ripper, Giles visa-verca…what would their relationship be like?)
Anyways, studio would easy finance something with a built in audience. We just have to wait for Joss’s career to evolve. He’ll want to have other successes under his belt, so it doesn’t look like he’s just running back to Buffy, 'cause it’s a sure thing)
Wasn’t the original idea supposed to be a valley girl that fights vampires? That’s a huge detatchment from the more soap opera-esque, demon hunter/savior of the world show that came about. IT’s been a while since I’ve watched it, but I remember the first season being more along that vien (hehehe) as well, although a bit more serious.
Still, I’m in agreement with everyone who says it would be a bad idea. The first movie was fun and campy, the series was anything but, but the first idea worked a lot better as a movie. Part of what made each season so good was the build up to the fight with the Big Bad, and that took a lot of time and developement that would be rushed in a movie. Otherwise, you’d be more likely to have a two hour episode from season 6. The series was great, and I feel that a movie would just cheapen it. If you want a continued story, there are comics and books to help with that.
The last two years the show failed. If they want to do a film, do it about Willow, or Anya, or even twerpy Dawn. Buffy is over.
I assume at some point someone will do the Vampire Slayer Reunion Show on TV. . .I’ll probably watch, just because everyone will be older; even the vampires. But I think it ran its course.
In order for a movie to work, it would have to look at the slayer line from a different angle…
So, no Buffy. Willow, who has lived a large portion of her life with the slayer and is a power in her own right, rebuilds the Watcher Council with Giles and starts training all the new slayers. Plenty of room for development and cameos.
The only reason I would want to see a Buffy movie made is for the chance of much gratuitous nudity. The plot wouldn’t matter. Just give me long, lingering scenes of Dawn in the shower. Maybe throw in some flashback scenes of Willow and Tara in the sack. Add a dollop of Xander/Anya for my GF, and we have a winner!
Otherwise, what is the point? A 2-hour Buffy episode would be a joke without a season to tie it in to.
I think the show worked well on its own and came to an appropriate close – I’d go see a Buffy movie and in fact I’d probably be excited about it, but I’d rather see Whedon and ME spend their efforts on other things (like resurrecting Firefly, which never got the chance to conclude like Buffy did, or by launching new innovative projects). Plus, there’s a strong split of opinion about the last two seasons of Buffy (which I thought were good and sometimes great, but which many people thought sucked). It’d be very difficult for a Buffy movie to appeal to both these groups.
Essentially, the story of Buffy was done when she died in 5x22. Death was her reward. As it is for every slayer. And even if there were good things going on in both S.6+7, it was quite clear that the biggest problem was that there is no more story to tell, about the Buffster.
Now, a spin-off series, called Slayer or (if I could decide)Wicca, could be fun. As for movies, thinking about marketing potentials and how to fit a story into a Joshverse, I’d go for a prequel were I a studio exec. Of course, the title would be Spike. And mr Lee would have a heart attack: “The most evil man in History is coming to a big screen near you - Spike!”
Wow…I had no idea this would be such a polarizing issue. I’m glad that this thead has developed into a debate of sorts…
I still have to defend the merits of a 2 hour movie. I think that the “bid bad” concept would translate well to the big screen. After all…how many of the “big bad” episodes actually mattered. Most could have been taken out without consequence to the story. You had the introduction of the character to the viewer, the introduction to the protagonist, attempts to destroy the protagonist, then a final battle. This type of story was invented in movies and transferred successfully to a TV show with Buffy…logic would dictate that you could move it back to the big screen with great success.
I think that the TV show came to an appropriate close for the TV show. They destroyed the town and in doing so closed that chapter in the story…but I do not see that they were ending the story altogether. They left it open ended and I’m excited at where they could take it from here. I don’t think Buffy is through and the one thing I WOULDN’T like to see is a movie based in the universe without her character.
I also have to, as always respectfully, argue that the books and comics cheapen the story much more than a movie (even a horrible movie) could. Also, although the original vision was a “valley girl that fights vampires”, I think that having the characters grown and change was also part of the orginal intention of Joss.
In short the movie, like any movie, would be a great or horrible as the creators make it. Given how good they are at their job I think the movie would be fantastic.
