BtVS - Sep 21

…To continue on the topic of fiction, (because real life is still…more than slightly unpleasant), there is the matter of a potential BtVS reboot that comes and goes through the rumor network.

Here is the thing. A while back, Whedon did appear to be open to it – but it’d been years in the past, and by now Whedon is working with DC, rather than Marvel & Disney, so it’s actually anyone’s guess as to where the potential negotiations are going, if they are still going at all. Yes, TV series and etc. are a lot about TV show reboots these days; they also got their own streaming platforms and are trying to overwhelm their viewers through sheer quantity, (and quality) of their shows, movies, etc., but that isn’t the point.

Then what is the point? Hard to tell. On one hand, we got the upcoming ‘Charmed’ reboot. As we talked earlier, people are praising the show, (or rather – its’ trailer), for being ‘woke’ (or whatever), for having a racially mixed cast. For the record, AoS also has a mixed-race cast, (though they do not always manage it well), but it did not work for them in the long run, as their number statistics still dropped. Of course, they are having a sixth season in 2019, but it feels more of a reboot even at a distance, and we’ll still need to see just how much the regular cast has changed between S5 and 6 by then.

Back to ‘Charmed’? Now one of the problems with AoS was its’ script and plot line: it was constantly broken and reset from the second half of S2 onwards, whereas in the ‘Charmed’ trailer… it looks to be largely followed the original series’ plotline, just depicted differently. Here, CW is trying to have it all, both old and new, and-

And it can be just as good a strategy as what Disney did with SW – and failed. If CW does not fail, and even succeeds, with this ambiguous strategy, more power to them! In addition, if they fail…well, Disney had failed there too – with the ‘Wrinkle in Time’ movie.

About that movie, (AWIT, for shortness). On one hand, Disney tried something new, more out of its’ comfort zone – like many of the real-life classics, AWIT the novel is not easily adapted to the modern cinematic values, but Disney still tried. On the other, they still have diverged quite a bit from the initial novel: some characters, like Auntie Beast, were removed completely, while some scenes got seriously changed.

For example, in the novel, Charles Wallace, his stepsister, and their friend get to ride a winged centaur at one point; it is even depicted on some of the covers of some of the editions, (novel, not movie). In the movie, the three children ride a creature that is not anything like a centaur, (winged or otherwise), but more like some Pokémon instead. It creates a very different atmosphere, a more goofy one, and not necessarily in a good way. The result? AWIT got mixed reviews at best, and for now that franchise seems to be shelved, as far as Disney is concerned. (The fact that apparently it is Disney’s second attempt to make AWIT into a movie probably does not help either).

So where does it leave BtVS? Here’s the thing. Before there was Buffy as in Sarah Michelle Geller, there had been a movie, a prequel of sorts, featuring completely different actors with a very different plot. There was also a pilot that was never aired on TVs, but you can find clips of it and such on YouTube and the rest of the Net. It too shows some different actors from the official cast; for example, there is no Alyson Hannigan but a different actress playing Willow – a very different Willow. If that pilot had worked, we would have had a very different BtVS too, because of the real life dynamics between the actors, the crew, and the rest of show running personnel.

Enter the potential reboot, which will have a very different cast, (because, for example, the aforementioned Alyson Hannigan is not interested in being an actress anymore, it seems). What next?

They will have to make it a choice; with BtVS S12 (comic-verse) being apparently over, the time for them (whoever they are) to make a move is now, because otherwise, without a regular comic support, the entire BtVS franchise will fade into obscurity completely and any investment into it will be much riskier than it currently is.

But what is this choice? Either try telling the old story with new characters and actors, or telling a new story with new characters and actors; say, about some new, younger Vampire Slayer that didn’t appear in BtVS up to date, at least not as a regular character; and?

And right now Disney, (who is usually rumored to be interested in buying the BtVS franchise from Whedon, the Dark Horse comics and etc.), has already plenty of issues to go through. On one hand, it has finally admitted that it had dropped the ball with its’ SW merger and is doing damage control – a lot of it. The SW9 movie is coming out next year, but after that? It is anyone’s guess as to what will happen next.

There is also the issue with the Disney/Marvel merger too. In summer 2018, James Gunn was fired because of a ‘me too’-related mess, and the entire GotG derailed as the actors rebelled. An agreement was failed to be reached, (there were not too many details available to the public), and so by now GotG vol. 3 is off the roster. Instead, it is anyone’s guess as to what will take its’ place, (the more likely candidate is a second ‘Dr. Strange’ movie). Anything else?

…Between juggling SW and Marvel (and anything else at this time), Disney is really uninterested in taking risks, and BtVS is a risk simply by default. Of course, so’s ‘Charmed’ and any other reboot, but CW has bulked its’ audience/viewer fanbase via ‘Arrow-verse’, so maybe it can take a hit. Disney…can also take a hit, but it already took one with SW, and now GotG may be another one, so it will pass on BtVS…maybe.

Or maybe all those rumors about BtVS being bought by anyone are only that – rumors, and Whedon and co. will churn more BtVS comic series for years to come. We will have to wait and see.

…This is it for this time, see you all soon!