Showing posts with label monica owusu-breen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label monica owusu-breen. Show all posts

Friday, 27 July 2018

New BUFFY showrunner acknowledges fan concerns

The producer of the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, which is in development at 20th Century Fox, has issued a statement confirming she is aware of fan concerns about a planned reboot or remake of the show with a new actress playing the role of Buffy.


However, rather contrary to some media sites which are reaching some very strange conclusions about what the message says, the message fails to confirm that the new show will not be a remake of the original series.

To recap, news broke last week that Monica Owusu-Breen was developing a new version of Buffy with an African-American actress planned to take over the lead role made famous by first Kristy Swanson and then - much more prominently - Sarah Michelle Gellar in the 1990s. Joss Whedon was on board to produce and possibly co-write the first episode, but his commitment to a new HBO project (The Nevers) prevented him from taking on a more prominent role on the project.

The fan reaction was hostile, not to the idea of a black Slayer - no less than six black actresses played different Slayers on the original show - but over the idea of recasting Buffy (who, in both the original 1992 movie and the TV series was meant to be the archetypal California blonde Valley Girl) instead of developing a brand-new character that wasn't riding on the coat-tails of the original.

Owusu-Breen's statement is somewhat ambiguous, saying there can only be one Buffy Summers (ignoring the fact we've had two already), but then adding a "but" before pointing out that twenty years have passed and it's time to meet a new Slayer, which could be taken as either a new character (which seems unlikely as Fox will want to keep the Buffy the Vampire Slayer brand recognition) or a new reinterpretation of the Buffy character or even a Buffy: The Next Generation project which fans seem keen on, but seems unrealistic for practical reasons (notably, original cast availability).

This will likely be clarified in the coming months if Fox decide to move forwards with the project or not.

Friday, 20 July 2018

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER reboot series in the works

20th Century Fox are developing a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, which will be set in the modern day and feature a fresh take on the story.


Details are still thin, but Monica Owusu-Breen (Agents of SHIELD) will be the executive producer and showrunner of the project. Joss Whedon is involved as executive producer and may co-write the pilot, but his involvement will be limited due to his commitment to The Nevers, a new genre show for HBO.

Reports suggest that a new African-American actress will be playing the role of Buffy, suggesting a total reboot of the franchise. However, the same reports suggest the show will be "building on the mythology of the original series." Buffy ended with the magical limitation that there could only be one Slayer being lifted, allowing thousands of new Slayers to arise all over the world. For a long time fans have speculated that a "Next Generation" show could launch years later with a team of Slayers as the core cast with maybe a couple of returning actors to work as mentors and parental figures. However, the suggestion seems to be that this will be a contemporary reboot instead with a new Buffy, although this seems to contradict Whedon's statement last year that a new show would feature the same actors.

More news as it comes in.