Joss Whedon

Buffy creator says money issues led to demise of Spike, Faith and Willow movies.

June 14, 2006 - Though it seemed less and less likely as time went on, Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel fans have still been holding out hope that the discussed made for TV or DVD movies featuring characters from those two beloved series would eventually happen. Unfortunately though, it seems that the movies are officially dead in the water, as Buffy / Angel creator Joss Whedon himself has now confirmed the recent rumors that they were not happening.

In an interview at WizardUniverse.com conducted by comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis, Whedon spoke of the upcoming Buffy comic book he’s writing, explaining, "This was originally a concept that was designed to tie in to some Buffy movies that are probably not going to happen," and that when it came to the comics, "There are certain characters I’ve been saving because I thought I might make movies about them, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen." Asked by Bendis why the movies aren’t going forward, Whedon wouldn’t go into specifics, but said, "I think money is standing in the way. What is ever in the way? What ever makes anything happen or not happen?"

About a year ago, the first movie — centered on the character Spike — seemed closer then ever to getting made, with former Angel producer/writer Tim Minear in talks to write and direct it. Originally the movies were intended to air on the soon to be defunct WB network, where Buffy and Angel first aired, but later talk had the movies instead debuting on DVD.

The first major word that the films were not going forward came last month, when Angel actress Amy Acker said as much at a fan convention, as reported by SyFyPortal.com. According to Acker, the movies weren’t happening because, "Fox couldn’t get it together the way Joss wanted to do them." Buffy and Angel are owned by 20th Century Fox Television and any future Buffy / Angel shows or movies would be produced by Fox.

Acker also gave more specifics on the movies then was previously known, explaining Whedon’s intent to make three of them; one starring James Marsters’s Spike, another Eliza Dushku’s Faith and the third focusing on Alyson Hannigan’s Willow. However, several other Buffy and Angel characters would have also appeared, including Acker’s Illyria and J. August Richard’s Gunn. In fact Acker revealed [Spoiler warning just in case these movies ever happen] that Gunn would have become a vampire and a primary villain.