Not seeing that any body has posted any info on this I thought I'd start a thread.

apparently they are going to reboot the Buffy franchise with a new movie that has nothing to do with the series.

http://movies.ign.com/objects/143/14352630.html

heh space - we've already complained bitterly on another thread, but this is better.  Apparently some woman who has never written a movie before weaseled in on the franchise.  Incredibley, Joss wasn't invited to the party. 

Maybe they didn't ask him because of the suckiness of Buffy Season 9.

I meant season 8 but there's no reason to think season 9 will be better.

They probably didn't ask him because they probably don't really care about the 'real' Buffy, and are just getting it out there to cash in on Twilight before the hype over vampires fades away.

 we've already complained bitterly on another thread,

Hi! What thread is that? I would love to read it.

Or maybe someone could copy that discussion and put it here?

Contrary to what most of the comments have been, I a total buffyaholic I am pretty sure that I would probably go see it - out of curiosity. The problem is that the Buffyverse became so popular and continues to have such a devoted fan base is because of "the whole enchilada." What the fans love now is not the theme of Buffy, but all the characters and the splendid actors that made up the entire sereis. We can't imagine the Buffyverse anymore with James Marsters playing Spike, or Anthony Head playing Giles. While I know that another talented actress could play Buffy, I love Sarah Michelle Gellar in the part.

Another big problem from the fan base perspective is that most of the current fans have the entire experience of all 7 seasons and the very powerful and high drama, with superlative performances by SMG and JM in particular. The very dark psychological themes that were so vital to the entire series would not likely be explored in a new Buffy film. HUGE PROBLEMO, since for many of the current fans, the Spike and Buffy arc ultimately is what keeps them interested in the series.

Buffy at university or Buffy in love, not something that I would be eager to see - it they are going to do another Buffy - I think it would have to be a Monster/Horror adventure - something that would not make the current fans try and do a "comparison" with the original.

More even than Sarah Michelle Gellar being replaced with a wonderful new actress - It's all the secondary figures that would present the most problems - I could deal with a new Buffy, but I seriously doubt that I could deal with the existing character being played with another cast.

This new Buffy would really have to be a total reboot - the only character that I guess really need to be a carry over would be Buffy and her watcher.

Nmcil from what I understand they only have the rights to the Buffy from the first film and not the one from the series and as a result they are not even allowed to use Spike, Angel, Willow or any other characters that first appeared in the series. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this point.

Nope, you're right spacelord. That's what I've seen reported from those with the time and energy to dig out the facts. All they have is the right to Buffy's name and the world presented in the Buffy movie. They just plan to reboot the movie.  I'm not holding my breath. A lot can go wrong between having an idea and permission and an actual screenplay making it onto film.

Yes, the Kuzuis only have rights to the '92 Buffy movie and the story within. So you have Pike as the love interest and a different Watcher mythology, and the specific vampire bad guys. And a Buffy without nearly as many issues, frankly.

They say they're not doing the high school thing, so she'll either be a teen you won't see at school, or a young adult.

I think it will be interesting to see how they try to go around the series, I mean Buffy the icon is pretty much just down to the series I don't hink anybody hardly remembers the movie except for the fact that it was bad. Somehow they will probably try to tie it in to the series characters, maybe they will have the same type of characters that are in the series but with different names.

Buffy taking off from the original film - that is different than doing a reboot of the tv show.  I purchased the the original film on the $5 film sale - I have not seen the entire thing yet, but what I have seen in vids etc, I did not like -

The good part is that if they can make a fairly decent movie, it might bring new fans to the TV show DVDs.  My niece is 15 yrs. old and totally into Twilight and Vampire Diaries.  I've talked to her a lot about Buffy and bought her the first season DVD set for Xmas last year, but she hasn't even opened the box in the past 11 months.  sigh...  So maybe a new movie, done well, would get her interested enough to watch it.  Then if she goes on to season 2, she'll be hooked!  So it could benefit us fans of the REAL Buffy by bringing new life to the show.  What do you think?

If the film were done well, it probably would bring in some new viewers - but only if the film is very good.  A lousy new Buffy film would just be another bad film. 

Caprica is a good example of an outstanding new addition to the original big hit.  The fans of the big hit Battlestar Galactica  simply did not come over to Caprica - even with the high level of production, thematic material and outstanding cast.   Would the viewers of the current mega hit Twilight or Vampire Diaries like Buffy"  Not sure that they would - it could just be a very different audience, I watched VD for a few episodes and soon lost all interest.  

TVD show settled into being pretty good for the second half of their first season and hasn't had a sophomore slump at all. Aside from the better production values, I do really think its first season is better written than BTVS S1. There are definite nods to BTVS in how they've made the show - whether accidental or deliberate I don't know - and from the summary of the books I read, they've improved on their source material.

Twilight fangirls would probably get into the Bangel angst. There are similarities there, at least on the surface.

A bad film will just feed the laugh-at-Buffy crowd, so it has to at least be entertaining, if not really good. The new scriptwriter could be good, who knows, but they still have to get a director and actors that want to do it right, too, as movies change a lot from page to final product. 

Wanna know something funny? I opened up my university newspaper today, and they had an article about this new Buffy movie. It was from an average fan, and she's as terrified at the possibilty as we are. She also managed to blast the comics for being pointless, and the picture they used was from "once more with feeling', thus had Spike.

So, that means it's just not us!

Harsh commentary on the comic books -  One of the latest articles indicates that Joss Whedon was asked to be involved with the Buffy remake but did not want to be involved -  if this is the case why did JW simply not say that he was asked to be involved and declined the offer. 

The article is misrepresenting. Joss said back in 2009 to EW.com that they approached him after they already announced they were developing a movie. The Kuzuis had made their announcement, backlash was happening, they talked to Joss to save face, and he declined because they wanted the reboot. Fastforward to now, and every time new news comes out about this movie, there is more backlash and people ask Joss for his thoughts and he's publicly gracious.

thanks for the clarification -

the Kuzuis only have rights to the '92 Buffy movie - thank goodness.  Considering what a mess they made out of the first Buffy movie.  It occurs to me that they can't even have her burn down the high school because that only came out in the show.