More on New Sunnydale…
Whoa! Well, we certainly timed that well, didn’t we?
As disappointed as we all are here at The Watcher’s Guide, we haven’t given up yet! We’re hearing that the decision to not go ahead with the HULU New Sunnydale pilot was made extremely late in the day and that the universe of Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains high on their list of things to develop. Since yesterday’s surprise announcement, there’s been a visceral reaction from the fanbase, some angry, some upset, all slightly confused…
Ryan Keira Armstrong posted a picture of herself in character as Nova, the new Slayer, which made the pain hurt slightly more. The idea that a pilot was filmed and just discarded after it was so publicly announced that Armstrong had been cast made the series feel very much like a done deal and this news has come as a complete surprise to the production team as well as insiders. Armstrong, along with the younger cast members of the pilot have posted their memories of filming, while Ryan herself shared a video on her Instagram.
Sarah Michelle Gellar also had more to share with her response to the fans.
The script was lovingly created, with easter eggs galore (the opening scene would have been set in a make-shift haunted house made to look like the old Sunnydale High) and Buffy would have appeared towards the end of the story, as the denizens of the New Sunnydale found that vampires can’t be crushed by crater rock and had been waiting to rise again!
Sounds fun doesn’t it? There’s even references to legends of the old Sunnydale, and the myths that have been told.
All in all, it was exactly what we expected: a new series with new characters with the audience in on the twist: this town was built where Sunnydale used to be. And then a shot at the end of the pilot, with Buffy, seemingly living a normal, boring life – until an email brought her back to Sunnydale with a bump…
Now, there is always a chance HULU could reverse their decision or the pilot could be reworked, as was being discussed as late as the middle of last week. DEADLINE have changed their wording to reflect how sudden this change in direction was. And studio executives will never not look twice at a huge reaction to cancellation… After all, look at the SHINY news below…
But… You Can’t Stop the Signal!
But then, something else happened. And it’s a Big Damn Thing…
Firefly may be returning as an animated series.
For those unaware, for the past few weeks, Nathan Fillion has been teasing a development, hinting at Firefly cast members reuniting for a project.
This Sunday at Awesome Con, Fillion and the rest of the original surviving cast were gathered. They have Joss Whedon‘s blessing. They have show runners who know the lore intimately. They have a go from Disney… provisionally. They even have scripts for a second season premiere entitled ‘Athenia’. They also have an award-winning animation studio, as DEADLINE highlighted.
All they need is a home.
You can follow Nathan Fillion’s podcast, Once We Were Spacemen on Instagram to see the video of Nathan telling us to share everything. Show the world and everyone in it the wonders of the Firefly universe. Talk about it, share your love. Do what we did in 2003 when they grounded us, do the impossible again, as we did with Serenity and bring the cast back to flyin’ through the ‘Verse.
We’ll be continuing with our Firefly coverage as planned, but this just makes it even more exciting! Let’s hope they hear what we’ve been saying since 2005… You Can’t Stop the Signal!
#bringbackfirefly
#bringbackbuffy
…And that makes us mighty.
Until next time,
— The Curator
The Watcher's Guide 