Joss Whedon's BUFFY Spin-Off RIPPER Still a Possibility
Joss Whedon is one hell of a busy guy, and after The Avengers is released in theaters chances are he's going to get even busier. Among working on an adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, a supernatural Romance film called In Your Eyes, the Buffy and Angel comics, Dr. Horrible 2, and a possible Avengers sequel, the filmmaker/writer has recently revealed that he also hasn't given up on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off series Ripper.
For those of you not familiar with this Ripper project, it follows the adventures of Buffy's mentor and teacher Rupert Giles played by Anthony Stewart Head. Ripper is a nickname taken from Giles' early days as an occultist, and the story would "focus on Giles alone in England, struggling with loneliness and getting into ghostly adventures." The series idea has been in existence since 2001 and has been discussed as being a possible miniseries, full TV series or a straight-to-DVD movie. I thought this project was long gone, I didn't think it would ever happen, but apparently it's still very much alive in Whedon's mind, and he still wants to do it.
Here's what the director told The AV Club in a recent interview,
No, the thing about Ripper—the essence of it—is that the BBC came to me at one point like, 'It doesn't have to be Ripper. It can just be [Anthony Stewart Head], and there's magic, and he's Tony, cuz he's awesome.' And that's the thing: For some reason, he keeps getting sexier every year. That's not happening to me! I'm like, 'What are you doing?' And that story was always about a mature guy who's lived, and about the choices he's made. So you could make that now, or you could make it 10 years from now. And I've tortured Tony more than any other living human with, 'We're definitely gonna do this!' Because I thought we were. He's working so much, though, I'd feel too guilty. But that's the thing with Ripper: It doesn't go away in my head because he's still right for it, and he could still bring it.
I would absolutely love to see this series to happen! As a fan of both Buffy and Angel, there's no doubt in my mind that a series like this, would be just as badass. I hope Whedon can make this happen! What are your thoughts on this Ripper series possibly happening?