Joss Whedon Not Directing New Buffy Film

Will the new movie bite the dust?

There's been so much said about the new Buffy movie that it rivals the pre-production days of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. Remember the rumours that Nolan's Memento-star, Guy Pearce, would be hopping on the batmobile and that Two-Face would be the star villain, neither of which happened. Currently, a movie derived the from the hit TV-series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is allegedly in pre-production with neither the aid of the series creator Joss Whedon or the series starlet Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The show that had fans purchasing custom-fit vampire fangs long before you could say Twilight went off the air in 2003 after 7 seasons. Director Fran Rubel Kuzui of Vertigo Entertainment came out with the original Buffy movie in 1993, before the show's success. The film went by virtually unnoticed and bit the dust, but it paved the way for a television show with a huge cult following.

Kuzui, who owns the rights to the franchise, is now looking to reintroduce viewers to Buffy in the big-screen, but without the influence of the show. That means that along with Whedon and Gellar, other fan favourites - Spike, Angel, Willow, etc - may also be excluded from the fold.

"The goal is to make a darker, more event-sized movie that takes Buffy into a new place," said Kuzui.

Former BtVS cast regular, Anthony Stewart Head, has spoken against the new film, stating that it would be a mistake to bring Buffy back without Whedon, the original writer of the TV show and 1993 film.

"The bottom line is if a movie was ever to be made, it should be made with Joss Whedon, whether it's a retrospective or not," said Head. "It was Joss's script at the age of 19, but they changed a lot of it. They said, 'Look, we know best and we know how to make this movie', and it became quite schlocky and high camp."

Whedon, the original writer of the film and show, has made little comment about the upcoming project except to say that he will not be involved.

"I hope it's cool [but] I think it's something better left untouched by me."