Buffy The Vampire Slayer

When Buffy ended, there were rumours of a Faith spin-off. Eliza Dushku reveals how near it came to happening…

Eliza Dushku reveals the truth behind the rumoured Faith spin-off show in the SFX Worlds Of Whedon special, out this Thursday: “After I finished the show, I’d withdrawn from school and followed up with a couple of films like Bring It On, but I’d had such an awesome experience working with Joss I was ready to go down that road again. So I met with Joss and Tim Minear and spoke about the potential for a Faith spin-off. But Buffy had just gone on seven years and Joss was really straightforward: he couldn’t play the kind of day-to-day role he had on Buffy – he had his family. I love Tim Minear, I trust him wholeheartedly and it wasn’t that I felt without Joss it wasn’t right, but it was a contributing factor. On top of it, I had just played this character for almost five years, it felt like time to explore a different role. So I ended up making a decision that, though looking back I don’t regret, in hindsight maybe the talks could have continued a bit longer. It’s a question I’ve been asked a gazillion times: ‘Why’d you do Tru Calling and not the Faith spin-off?’ Thing is, even Joss was part of helping me make that decision. He said: ‘I think you have to follow your gut, which is trying something different, and we’ll stay friends so this isn’t goodbye, this is until next time.’”