The popular fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel has led to attempts to develop more commercially viable programs set in the fictional 'Buffyverse'. However some of these projects remain undeveloped for various reasons: sometimes, vital cast members may be unavailable; alternatively, studios and networks which would provide capital for the spinoffs might remain unconvinced that such projects are financially viable.
From 2007 onwards, many ideas for unproduced Buffy spin-offs found their way into canonical comic books. Ideas for Faith were utilised in Dark Horse Comics' Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight ; ideas for Spike featured in IDW Publishing's Angel: After the Fall ; and characters and plotlines developed for Ripper were adapted for Dark Horse's Angel & Faith .
A summary of the undeveloped productions:
| Title | Idea first publicly revealed |
|---|---|
| Description | |
| Corrupt | 1999 |
| Corrupt was originally intended as the second Angel episode, but the script was replaced due to the dark tone of the story. | |
| Buffy: The Animated Series | 2002 |
| Buffy: The Animated Series was an undeveloped animated TV show based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. | |
| Ripper | 2002 |
| Based upon the life of the character of Rupert Giles in England. | |
| Slayer School | 2003 |
| The show might have used some of the Potentials who had become slayers after the Buffy finale. | |
| Faith the Vampire Slayer | 2003 |
| Tim Minear was behind an unfulfilled idea for a Buffy spinoff in 2003 featuring Eliza Dushku as the popular antihero slayer Faith. | |
| Spike | 2004 |
| Spike is a proposed movie based upon the character starring James Marsters. | |
Buffy: The Animated Series was an undeveloped animated TV show based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Development began on the show in 2001 and the series was initially greenlit by 20th Century Fox in 2002. Six scripts were completed by members of Mutant Enemy and in 2004 a four-minute presentation was produced (which was distributed only within the industry). However, it ultimately went unproduced and unaired when no network was willing to buy the series.
"Corrupt" was originally intended as the second Angel episode. The story used dark and adult themes. The script written by David Fury included the character Kate Lockley as a drug-addicted cop deep undercover as a prostitute, and also included Angel tasting the blood of a victim. The production was abandoned, and instead the "lighter" episode, "Lonely Hearts," was written and produced.
Tim Minear was behind an idea for a Buffy spinoff in 2003 featuring Eliza Dushku as the popular antihero slayer Faith. Instead, Dushku would go on to star as the main character in the series Tru Calling .
Ideas intended for the spin-off were later borrowed in small part by Brian K. Vaughan for his "No Future for You" arc in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight .
Ripper was originally a proposed television show based upon the character of Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (created by Joss Whedon). More recent information has suggested that if Ripper were ever made it would be a TV-movie or a DVD-movie. [4] Giles, played by British actor Anthony Stewart Head, was nicknamed 'Ripper' while he was dabbling in the occult during his rebellious youth.
Whedon said that the show would be in the tradition of "classic English ghost stories" and would explore the theme of loneliness. Head described the idea as being like " Cracker with ghosts"; [5] Whedon elaborated on some of the themes he had planned for the series: "The people who live there, it's all very isolated. [Giles] himself has been gone for many years. He was surrounded by a de facto family that he no longer has. And [he is] sort of picking up his life all alone, and then getting involved in the underbelly of other people's lives, and finding out all about them. Loneliness is what I think of. It may not be the theme so much as the emotional intent of the series, but that's what really attracts it to me the most" [6] It was later reported that Whedon had written the two-hour pilot, and that Espenson and other Buffy staff writers had penned story outlines for other potential episodes. [7]
Originally in 2001, the show was planned to be aired as a miniseries on the BBC. Later mentions suggested a TV movie, however in an interview in December 2005, Head suggested that Ripper would be a "two hour movie, that might become part of a series of [Buffyverse] DVDs". [4] However, Whedon was then involved in his new TV series Dollhouse which ended in 2010 and comic book Buffy Season 8 . Whedon announced plans for a Ripper series as soon as Head left Buffy in 2001 to return to his home in England. Over the past eight years, the idea has evolved.
At Comic Con 2007, Joss Whedon confirmed that talks were almost completed for a 90-minute Ripper special on the BBC, [8] with both Head and the BBC completely on board.
The development process was supposedly set to begin in 2008 and Ripper was to be shown in the summer of that year. [9] However, in a BBC interview in April 2008, Head stated that 'Creator Joss Whedon is busy with another project, I'm tied up too, so at the moment I'd just say that it's still out there.' [10] In this same interview, Head mentioned that Whedon had discussed the project with Doctor Who and Torchwood producer Julie Gardner.
"Originally, when he pitched it to me, it was a series, and it was Giles as this sad, lonely man in England without a real reason to be," Head said. "It was pretty much ghost stories. Week by week, some ghost story would somehow affect him. Then he said he didn't want to. By that time, I think he had been affected by Angel, the need to write a weekly story. I think he found at that point the drive was different, so he suggested this one film that we were going to make. He told me this story that he had written, and it's absolutely beautiful, and I hope that one day it gets made, whether it's in the guise of Ripper or whether we just tell it as a one-off TV movie. It's a lovely, lovely story. It's kind of a ghost story. It's also about a man investigating his own soul, and it's fascinating, lovely, sad, and it's classic Joss Whedon. I hope we get to make it one day. From there on in, if it was successful, maybe he could have been convinced to do a series. As I say, now he's back in the seat of doing a weekly series with Dollhouse; maybe he can be convinced otherwise. Never say never, but at the same time, I think it's on a shelf for a while."
Later Joss Whedon gave an interview to TV Week's James Hibberd and was non-committal about Ripper. Whedon stated that "There isn’t anything new. It might become too problematic. The rights issue with 'Ripper' becomes complicated. There are other characters in the woods. We may have to do some fancy footwork. Obviously I’m committed to Dollhouse but that does not mean I’m not doing 'Ripper'". [11] In an interview from "The Write Environnement", Whedon reiterated: "Well, Ripper fell victim to a lot of things, most of them contractual... at this point, all I know is I’m gonna do something with Tony for the BBC – and I don’t know what it is... Actually, I kinda do know what it is, but I haven’t figured it out enough to tell anybody... but I think it probably won’t be Ripper."
With the cancellation of Dollhouse Whedon has been locked in talks over the rights issues of the character of Rupert Giles. This is the only hurdle with the BBC having funding, location and local production team in place, with Whedon delivering the initial script. It still remains unclear whether it would go beyond a 90-minute TV special or become a stand-alone miniseries. [12] [13]
During an interview with The A.V. Club, Whedon says: "[..]the thing about Ripper—the essence of it—is that the BBC came to me at one point like, “It doesn’t have to be Ripper. It can just be [Anthony Stewart Head], and there’s magic, and he’s Tony, cuz he’s awesome.” And that's the thing: For some reason, he keeps getting sexier every year. That's not happening to me! I'm like, “What are you doing?” And that story was always about a mature guy who's lived, and about the choices he's made. So you could make that now, or you could make it 10 years from now. And I’ve tortured Tony more than any other living human with, “We’re definitely gonna do this!” Because I thought we were. He's working so much, though, I'd feel too guilty. But that's the thing with Ripper: It doesn't go away in my head because he's still right for it, and he could still bring it." [14]
In 2012, content for the Ripper TV series began to be adapted for the comic book Angel & Faith , which depicts Angel's quest to resurrect Giles, while living in Giles' London home, which passed on to his primary inheritor, Faith Lehane. Storylines depicting Giles' past in this series were intended for Ripper, as were several of its characters. Giles' aunts feature, ageless witches named Sophronia and Lavinia Fairweather. Whedon had intended from them to be portrayed by Anthony Head's daughters Emily and Daisy Head in the live action series. [15]
Jane Espenson has said that back when the series Buffy was nearing its end, "I think Marti talked with Joss about Slayer School, I assume there was some back-and-forth pitching." [16]
Espenson revealed more information when she gave a talk at Ball State University in March 2003. The show might have used some of the Potentials (who became slayers after "Chosen"), and other characters from Buffy, which might have included Willow Rosenberg. Espenson also revealed that Whedon did not think that such a spinoff felt right. [17] It seems that the concept for "Slayer School" was never developed beyond a 'pitch' for a potential spin-off to replace Buffy.
Spike was a proposed movie based upon the character of Spike from Buffy and Angel . The idea was considered dead by 2006 and in 2012 James Marsters, the actor who had portrayed the character Spike, confirmed for 411Mania that he would not play Spike again: he felt he was too visibly old to play the character without having "to cheat". [18] In a later interview in June 2016, Marsters clarified that he might reprise his role as Spike in the future, but only if technology had advanced far enough that it would be able to convince viewers that Spike had not aged. He stated that in 2004, when he was asked by Whedon if he would be willing to be cast as Spike in future projects, he replied that he would be able to portray him for up to seven years after the end of the "Angel" series. After this time had passed in 2011, James Marsters believed that he was too old to play the part.
James Marsters discussed some ideas that he had for the movie with Joss Whedon and he created a script for the film. Marsters' script was used in 2014 and released as a comic titled "Spike: Into The Light." It was published by Dark Horse Comics and loosely follows the proposed plot of the TV movie. The illustrations in the comic were produced by: Derlis Santacruz, Dan Jackson and Steve Morris. [19]
The story of the graphic novel follows the same plot of the undeveloped Spike movie. It takes place in between the end of Season 6 and the beginning of Season 7 of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV series. The main character, Spike, has recently earned his soul and is homeless on the streets. He finds it very difficult to survive without committing crimes. The vampire has damaged his boots and requires a new pair. On the way to redemption, he saves children from a monster and faces his past.
After Angel was cancelled in 2004, WB claimed an interest in Angel TV movies. However, it was soon revealed that summer that David Boreanaz, who had already played the character for eight years on television, would only return to his character for a theatrical release. [20]
In May 2004, James Marsters revealed that there might be a possibility of a Spike movie. [21] The same year he said that he would be willing to return to the Buffyverse if it were within five years. Beyond that five years he feared that it would no longer be believable that Marsters was portraying an immortal character. [22]
Since 2004 Whedon has been working on other projects, such as Serenity , Wonder Woman and Astonishing X-Men . However he has approached people and asked if they would be interested in participating in the Spike movie. He has said that Amy Acker would be a part of the movie, and if Alyson Hannigan was available she might appear. Whedon has even mentioned he might interlink the Spike story with that yet to be told in Buffy comics he will be writing for Dark Horse in 2007. [23]
Tim Minear revealed in late 2005 that “I had lunch with Joss and he asked me if I wanted to write and direct some blond vampire movie thing”. [24]
David Janollari, president of entertainment at The WB said in January 2006 that "We'd love to do a Spike movie with Joss Whedon." However he added that "Joss Whedon is busy, fast becoming a kind of a big feature filmmaker. He's simply not available to us. But he knows, and you guys all know, the door is open any time that he wants to do that, for us to do that movie." [25]
Since then Whedon has continued to pursue the Spike movie, and find interested parties that would air and/or produce the film led by Minear, and starring Marsters and Acker. During March 2006, Whedon appeared on the UK TV Channel, MTV Screenplay, he announced he was still trying to get the Spike movie made. [26] In May 2006, outside the Saturn Awards, Whedon announced that he had pitched the concept to various bodies (which must include 20th Century Fox, since they own the rights to the fictional Buffyverse), but had yet to receive any feedback from those bodies. [27] Amy Acker said at a convention in May 2006 that the Spike movie would not be happening: “I think its safe to say that’s not happening anymore, cause if they were, they’d be getting done right now. There was supposed to be three of them –- one for Spike, a Faith one and also one for Willow. I think it's safe to say that now because it's not going to happen”. [28] In June 2006, Joss Whedon also said that funding was a problem: "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. I think money is standing in the way". [29]
"I think Marti [Noxon] talked with Joss about Slayer School and Tim Minear talked with him about Faith on a motorcycle," said Jane [Espenson].
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Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998–2018 Dark Horse and 2019–present Boom! Studios comic series of the same name. The character has also appeared in the spin-off series Angel, as well as numerous expanded universe materials such as novels and video games. Buffy was portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the film and by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the television series. Giselle Loren has lent her voice to the character in both the Buffy video games and an unproduced animated series, while Kelly Albanese lent her voice to the character in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight motion comics.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon, although they are separate and otherwise unrelated productions. Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner under his production tag Mutant Enemy Productions.
William "Spike" Pratt, played by James Marsters, is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Spike is a vampire and played various roles on the shows, including villain, anti-hero, trickster and romantic interest. For Marsters, the role as Spike began a career in science fiction television, becoming "the obvious go-to guy for US cult [television]." For creator Whedon, Spike is the "most fully developed" of his characters. The character was intended to be a brief villain, with Whedon originally adamant to not have another major "romantic vampire" character like Angel. Marsters says "Spike was supposed to be dirty and evil, punk rock, and then dead." However, the character ended up staying through the second season, and then returning in the fourth to replace Cordelia as "the character who told Buffy she was stupid and about to die."
Angel is an American supernatural television series, a spinoff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffy's creator, writer and director Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt. It aired on The WB from October 5, 1999, to May 19, 2004, consisting of five seasons and 110 episodes. Like Buffy, it was produced by Whedon's production company, Mutant Enemy.
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The character proved popular with viewers, and Head's performance in the role was well received. Following Buffy's run, Whedon intended to launch a television spin-off focused on the character, but rights issues prevented the project from developing. Outside of the television series, the character has appeared substantially in Expanded Universe material such as novels, comic books, and short stories.
James Wesley Marsters is an American actor, voice actor, musician, singer, comic book writer, and audiobook narrator.
Faith Lehane is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actress Eliza Dushku, Faith was introduced in the third season of Buffy and was a focus of that season's overarching plot. She returned for shorter story arcs on Buffy and its spin-off, Angel. The character's story is continued in the comic book series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, and she also appears in apocryphal material such as other comic books and novels. Faith was set to receive her own spin-off television series after the final season of Buffy, but Eliza Dushku declined the offer, and the series was never made. The character later co-stars in the 25-issue comic book Angel & Faith beginning in August 2011 under the banner of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine, the story taking place mostly in London and the surrounding area. Seven years after the character's creation, Whedon granted her the surname Lehane for a role-playing game and subsequent material. The last issue of Season Eight was the first source officially confirmed to be canon that referred to Faith by her full name.
Angel is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the American television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel. The character is portrayed by actor David Boreanaz. As introduced in Buffy in 1997, Angel is a love interest for heroine Buffy Summers, a young woman whose destiny as "the Slayer" is to fight the forces of evil, such as vampires and demons. However, their relationship is complicated by the fact that Angel is himself a vampire cursed with remorse and a human soul, which motivates him to assist Buffy in her duties as Slayer. The character's popularity led to the production of the spin-off Angel, which follows the character's struggle towards redemption after moving to Los Angeles. In addition to the two television series, the character appears in the comic book continuations of both series, as well as much other expanded universe literature.
Darla is a recurring fictional character created by Joss Whedon and played by Julie Benz in the first, second, and fifth seasons of the American supernatural television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character later appeared in the Buffy spin-off series Angel, making at least one appearance in every season. She made her last television appearance in 2004, appearing as a special guest star in the fifth and final season of Angel.
The Buffyverse canon consists of materials that are thought to be genuine and those events, characters, settings, etc., that are considered to have inarguable existence within the fictional universe established by the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Buffyverse is expanded through other additional materials such as comics, novels, pilots, promos and video games which do not necessarily take place in exactly the same fictional continuity as the Buffy episodes and Angel episodes. Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate and other prolific sci-fi and fantasy franchises have similarly gathered complex fictional continuities through hundreds of stories told in different formats.
Buffy: The Animated Series is an animated television series concept based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer created by Joss Whedon. Initially greenlit by 20th Century Fox in 2002, it went ultimately unproduced and unaired when no network was willing to buy the series. The series would have taken place in the middle of Buffy season 1, as writer Jeph Loeb described the continuity as "Episode 7.5".
Whedonesque.com was a collaborative weblog devoted to the works of Joss Whedon. Submissions of new content ended on August 21, 2017, following the publication of an open letter by Whedon's ex-wife Kai Cole. The site was taken offline in 2021. At its inception in 2002, Whedonesque covered Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but expanded to follow Whedon's professional output, as well as the careers of cast and crew associated with Whedon projects. Since 2004, the site has been recognized in other media outlets by awards and citations of Whedon's writings originally posted to Whedonesque.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2007 to 2011. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote or co-wrote three of the series arcs and several one-shot stories. The series was followed by Season Nine in 2011.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2011 to 2013. It is the sequel to the Season Eight comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Season Nine brand also incorporates a new Buffy spin-off series, Angel & Faith, and two spin-off miniseries Willow: Wonderland and Spike: A Dark Place. The core series consisted of 25 issues and each miniseries consisted of 5 issues.
The fourth season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on October 5, 1999, on The WB and concluded its 22-episode season on May 23, 2000. It maintained its previous timeslot, airing Tuesdays at 8:00 pm ET. Beginning with this season, the character of Angel was given his own series, which aired on The WB following Buffy. Various Buffy characters made appearances in Angel, including Buffy herself; Cordelia Chase, formerly a regular in Buffy, and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, who appeared in Buffy season three.
The seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on September 24, 2002 on UPN and concluded its 22-episode run on May 20, 2003. It maintained its previous timeslot, airing Tuesdays at 8:00 pm ET.
The first season of the television series Angel, the spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, premiered on October 5, 1999, on The WB and concluded its 22-episode season on May 23, 2000. The season aired on Tuesdays at 9:00 pm ET, following Buffy.
The following is a list of unproduced Joss Whedon projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director Joss Whedon has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects are officially cancelled or fell into development hell.
