Joss Whedon Reacts to Terrible ‘Buffy’ Remake News

Few television series enjoy a fanbase as passionate as that of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Created by Joss Whedon, the nearly 15-year-old show has become a geek institution and a superlative example of the feminism in genre fiction. So monumental was the series and its television and comic book spinoffs that few remember that Buffy began as a dubious 1992 comedy starring Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry (riding high on that Beverly Hills, 90210 fame). Well, we were all reminded of that film's existence this week when news broke that Warner Bros., in its infinite wisdom, has initiated a revival of Buffy as a new film that will not be overseen in any way by Whedon or connected to the television series he made such an enduring success.

With Buffy fans sharing a massive meltdown all over the Web, E! News reached out to the Avengers-directing Joss Whedon for some thoughts on the matter, which he shared with typical flair and humor.

This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths-just because they can't think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.

More from Whedon's statement after the jump.

I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don't love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I'm also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly.

The new Buffy The Vampire Slayer has been written by someone called Whit Anderson and will be produced by Charles Roven of Atlas Entertainment, who told The Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex that a Buffy remake is not something he would have thought to do on his own.

...but Whit's take is pretty compelling and a lot of fun, and it's interesting to see all of this re-imagined. This is a completely new reboot. Tone is extremely important and you want the audience to realize what is at stake and the peril is real, but at the same time what's going on should be fun and inviting and keep everyone engaged. It needs to be relevant to today, too, and that is what Whit has found a way to do.

Roven's remarks are the sort of Hollywood-producer-missing-the-point nonsense we rarely hear anymore, in these days where genre films and television dominate the industry. Most audaciously, Roven said, "There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character's return," plainly mistaking Whedon's role in Buffy's success to be incidental.

Spinoff Online was quick to observe former Buffy and Angel star David Boreanaz's reaction to this sad news, which came in the form of a photo Tweet from the set of his current project, Bones.

I think Boreanaz speaks for us all.

[Via Spinoff Online]