Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Every Failed Spin-off (& Why They Didn’t Happen) – Screen Rant

Joss Whedon's cult classic television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, had several spin-offs in the works, but none ultimately happened.The 1992 film - which creator Joss Whedon famously hated - only had moderate box office success, andfailed to connect with critics. Thankfully, Whedon was granted a second chance to see his vision truly realized in the form of a TV series. The groundbreaking show ran for seven seasons from 1997-2003 and spawned the spin-off series, Angel. Long before season 7 wrapped, there were rumors that more shows would soon be added to the Buffyverse.

It is easy to underestimate just how much Buffy the Vampire Slayer altered the TV landscape, which was drastically different in 1997. The pilot aired well over twenty years ago, but the series consistently continues to attract new viewers thanks to modern streaming services. High school as Hell is a timeless metaphor, and the show explored themes that still resonate with viewers of all ages. Theshow may have been fantastical, but it was always grounded in very real emotions.Buffy the Vampire Slayer was populated with a slew of characters that were both lovable and unforgettable. The show truly transcended genre and brought audiences one of televisions best fictional female icons, Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar). It also popularized serialized storytelling during a time when shows were largely episodic.

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Thanks to Buffy the Vampire Slayers immense impact on pop culture and its extremely loyal fanbase, both creators and viewers had hopes of keeping the Buffyverse alive after Angel took its final bow in 2004. Years later, Angels jaw-dropping cliffhanger remains the last word on the subject with the exception ofBuffy's comic continuation. Dark Horse publishedseasons 8-12,after which timethe property was rebooted by Boom in 2019. Although none of the TV spin-offs actually happened, there is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer rebooton the way, though fans remain divided on whether or not the show needs one.

Buffy: The Animated Series seemed like the perfect way to expand the Buffyverse. The show began development in 2001 with comic writer Jeph Loeb onboard. It was meant to take place during Buffys first season. The series was set to air on Fox Kids in 2002, but this plan fell apart when Fox Kids ceased to exist. Somewhat surprisingly, no other networks were interested in airing the cartoon series. In 2004, an attempt was made to resurrect the project.A promo was put together with the intent to sell the show to a network. Sarah Michelle Gellar opted not to return as Buffy, but the majority of the cast had agreed to reprise their roles. Despite the commitment from cast members, the several scripts that were already written, and all the promise shown by the brief promo, the series was not picked up.

Whedon felt the shows potentially high price tag combined with its slightly dark subject matter ultimately led to the failure of the animated series. The promo proved Buffy the Vampire Slayer could be lightened considerably, but the material still may not have proven suitable for younger viewers. Alas, the closest fans ever got to seeing the series fully realized was in Loeb and Whedons season 8 Buffy comic "After These Messages... We'll Be Right Back!"

Its difficult to believe that Eliza Dushkus Faith was initially only signed on for a mere five episodes, considering the impact she had on the series. Serving as Buffys dark reflection, the rogue slayer went on quitethe heros journey across bothBuffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. As Buffy was wrapping up in 2003, Buffyverse writer Tim Minear pitched a spin-off, Faith the Vampire Slayer. Dushkus character had long been a fan favorite, but the actress elected not to reprise the role, effectively ending the show before it had begun. Although she explained that she trusted everyone involved to make the spin-off great, Dushku felt she needed to move on, choosing to star in the excellent, but tragically short-lived series, Tru Calling. She would later re-team with Whedon for two seasons of Dollhouse.

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According to Minear, the show wouldve featured Faith traversing the globe, attempting to find herself, and likely helping others along the way. Being on the run would have made sense, considering the slayer had broken out of prison during Angel season 4. Some minor aspects of the spin-off were later incorporated into the season 8 comics during Brian K. Vaughans arc. In fact, his stint on the book began with his pitch for a direct-to-DVD Faith movie. Faith's adventures have continued in the comics, in which she did co-headline her own series with Angel.

At first glance, Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) appeared to be a stuffy Englishman acting as Buffys watcher. However, Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 2 revealed there was far more to Giles than meets the eye. The watcher had been quite the rebel as a teenager, raising literal Hell in the process. He had been known to his friends back then as Ripper, which wouldve served as the spin-offs title. This long-rumored series wouldve seen Giles return to England as something of a ghost hunter. The hope was for Ripper to air on the BBC, but what form it would take (DVD movie, TV show, miniseries) was continuously evolving. Sadly, Whedons focus on Dollhouse, in conjunction with a battle for the rights to the character ofGiles, caused Ripper to stall out completely.

Although Ripper had been discussed since 2001, Whedon was stillmentioning it in interviews as late as 2012. He seemed to believe that due to the premise and Heads immense talent, that it would never really be too late to revisit the idea. Giles is human, so Ripper wouldnt pose the same challenges as a project focusing on an ageless character, such as Angel or Spike. Much like the other failed spin-offs, some of the ideas for Ripper have since appeared in comic form, mainly in Angel & Faith.

Never a show to cease subverting expectations, Buffy the Vampire Slayer surprised audiences once again in the shows series finale, "Chosen", by making all the potential slayers into proper ones. Buffyverse scribe Jane Espensen explained that Whedon and former Buffy showrunner/writer Marti Noxon had discussed a Slayer School series. The thought was ashow centering on the newly-minted slayers, perhaps headed up by Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) herself.

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Like all of these proposed spin-offs, Slayer School never came to fruition. In fact, this one never made it past the pitching phase. This makes sense, as its the weakest idea of the bunch. Fans adore Willow, but one of several complaints lodged at Buffys seventh season is that there was too much time spent on the potentials. There may have been some standouts in the bunch, but its difficult to imagine audiences tuning in for a show revolving around the new slayers. Even the comics wound up largely ignoring the majority of the original potentials in favor of introducing new ones instead.

After Angel was unceremoniously canceled, there were hopes of giving the show a proper ending with a movie. However, star David Boreanaz wasnt interested in the idea unless the release would be theatrical. James Marsters, on the other hand, was perfectly happy to reprise the role of Spike in any capacity. So, the focus for the movie became the other vampire with a soul. The project was discussed for a few years, with Whedon even considering having some crossover between the movie and theBuffy the Vampire Slayercomics he began writing in 2007. He hinted that Hannigan could return as Willow, and Amy Acker revealed plans for Illyria to be a part of the film as well. The actress also mentioned that J. August Richards would have reprised his part as Charles Gunn, but as a villain after becoming a vampire, following the events of the Angel series finale. Minear was tapped to direct.

Despite all the support, the Spike movie never materialized, with Whedon citing money as an issue. Also, Fox owned the characters, but passed on the movie. The other major hurdle facing the cast was time, considering Spike is immortal and obviously, Marsters is not. Marsters did eventually see his pitch for the film brought to life in some form. The original graphic novel was released in 2014 as Spike: Into the Light, which was written by the actor and drawn by Derlis Santacruz.

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Jamie Gerber is a writer for Screen Rant, The Quiz and Psycho Drive-In. Despite getting her English degree years ago, she cant seem to leave her job at the comic shop. She has an obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and enjoys bullying people into playing the Buffy board game. Her crushes include Michael Fassbender, Nightwing and the cartoon fox from Robin Hood. She takes far too many pictures of both her dog and her horse, and prefers spending time with them to hanging out with actual human beings. Jamie loves all things pop culture and believes her life would be meaningless without a soundtrack. She aspires to write about the things that she loves at a job that can support her massive Thai take-out addiction.

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Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Every Failed Spin-off (& Why They Didn't Happen) - Screen Rant