Lest we forget, Joss Whedon passed on doing the Buffy The Vampire Slayer reboot himself

The rending of digital garments over the only-Kristy-Swanson-approved big-screen reboot of Buffy The Vampire Slayer has clearly gotten to its makers: The Hollywood Reporter quotes “studio insiders” from Atlas and/or Vertigo Entertainment, reiterating that creator Joss Whedon was approached first by producers Fran and Kaz Kuzui, but he passed on it in order to “work on other projects.” Which is sort of true: Whedon told Entertainment Weekly last year, “I believe [the producers] did ultimately reach out to my agent after the news broke. I think that's something better left untouched by me. So, I wish them luck.”

At the time, Whedon was in the middle of Dollhouse (not Marvel’s The Avengers, as the article implies), and his quick dismissal and slightly disingenuous “I wish them luck” suggested he likely assumed that producers would realize that doing the project without him or the actors and characters from the TV show would be like his beloved franchise rising from the grave boasting a slightly recognizable face but hollow, soulless inside—like a supernatural creature of the night of some sort, one that needs a swift killing. But Whedon clearly forgot all about the girl who played “Yes Patron” in Yes Man, and anyway, now here we are.