A feature film reboot of the popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer is now moving forward with a new writer and major studio backing.
In May of 2009, it was reported that the reboot — without the great Joss Whedon — was possible, and that Kuzui Enterprises was receiving many inquires about sequels and reboots and many other things. It took a little while to get something done, but now Warner Brothers has stepped in to acquire the rights from Kuzui, and has joined forces with Vertigo Entertainment and Atlas Entertainment to make it happen.
Not only that, but a writer has been found to get the script going, and that writer is Whit Anderson. The 29-year-old Anderson is a newcomer to the business, with only three small credits to her name as an actress — two in short films and one a small role in Yes Man — and none as a writer. Anderson won the job based on a pitch that really appealed to those who back the film, who were impressed with her understanding of where they wanted to go with Buffy and the tone she was presenting.
Atlas’s Charles Roven, who was a producer on movies like Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, had this to say about the reboot and Anderson’s take:
Generally, I wouldn’t have said, ‘Let’s revive this,’ but Whit’s take is pretty compelling and a lot of fun, and it’s interesting to see all of this reimagined.
This is a completely new reboot. Tone is extremely important, and you want the audience to realize what is at stake and the peril is real, but at the same time what’s going on should be fun and inviting and keep everyone engaged. It needs to be relevant to today too, and that is what Whit has found a way to do.
There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character’s return. … While this is not your high-school Buffy, she’ll be just as witty, tough and sexy as we all remember her to be.
Anderson shares that she’s currently “fighting through” the script, but talked about her passion for Buffy:
I didn’t really watch much television at all, but I always watched ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.‘ That was the one show I would watch when I got home. I just loved this character. I was the same age as Buffy, and it was so rare to have a female lead character on TV in those days who was strong and capable and smart but also allowed to be feminine.
The thing that was so wonderful about ‘Buffy’ is what made it special was so timeless. 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. Those are the things I loved about her and her world.
She also represents — like all the heroes — something empowering for us. She reminds us of what we could be if we were in our top form, the best of us if we were at our very best, and even then we still see the vulnerability and doubts she has inside. That’s where we all connect.
No date is set for the movie to get done, but Roven hopes that it can maybe be done and released by late 2011, or more likely, at some point in 2012. It’s also unknown who will be cast as Buffy, which will easily be the most difficult step. It’s obviously not going to be easy to replace Sarah Michelle Gellar, who’s the face of the character despite Kristy Swanson originally playing her in the 1992 film, but it is absolutely crucial that the perfect actress is chosen to embrace the role as her own while slowly winning the fans over. A misstep here would spell disaster.
[Source: Hero Complex]
