When it was announced that Warner Bros. was developing a film reboot of the Buffy the Vampire franchise, the fan reception was pretty overwhelmingly hostile - not only because of the general fondness for Joss Whedon's TV series, but also due to the writer/director's complete lack of involvement with the reboot (he is currently busy helming The Avengers for Marvel, as it were).

However, according to a new report, progress on the Buffy revamp has been halted; in fact, for the time being, the project looks to be in danger of collapsing entirely - or, at least, not happening in the (relatively) near future.

Hero Complex has learned that Buffy reboot writer Whit Anderson handed in a script draft for the project back in Summer 2011 that left Warner Bros. officials unimpressed; in the end, the screenplay was rejected entirely. According to an insider, Anderson had originally developed a new take on the traditional Buffy mythos that convinced studio heads to give her ideas a shot, but "in the end there just wasn't enough on the page."

The search is now on to find a replacement screenwriter for the Buffy reboot, but immediate indications are that the project has (essentially) fallen into development limbo and doesn't look to climb back out in the near future. Then again, Warner Bros. has a precedent for giving stalled remakes/reboots a second shot at development (ex. Akira) so don't completely count out the possibility of a renovated Buffy movie just yet.

All the same, this is good news for those who just couldn't get behind the idea of rebooting the Buffy franchise - which now encompasses a television show, comic book series, novel tie-ins, and the original (ultra-campy) 1992 movie. Recycling entertainment is all the rage in Hollywood right now, but this is one instance where almost everyone seems to agree: leave the original(s) alone and try something new instead.

Are you still hoping to see a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot sometime in the future?

Source: LA Times