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Anthony Head: The Buffy spinoff Ripper may still be possible
Anthony Stewart Head, who played Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told reporters that he is still discussing a possible British spinoff series or film centering on his character with creator Joss Whedon.
Just as news is breaking that a new Buffy movie is in the works, Head said that he was talking about the proposed spinoff, to be called Ripper, with Whedon just before Whedon began to conceive Fox's Dollhouse.
"I actually introduced Joss to Julie Gardner, who was the executive producer on [Merlin] with the BBC," Head said in a conference call on Monday during which he was promoting Merlin. "She has long wanted to do something with the project. There are obviously complications with Ripper, because there are lots of tie-ins. There's Fox, there's the Kuzuis [who own the rights to Buffy], there's all sorts of stuff. Basically, it isn't just the simple question of Joss making a series that he wants to make. As far as anything concerned with Buffy, there are a lot of people down the line that would have a say. That's part of the equation, but we were sort of talking about what we might do with it. Pretty much at that point he had this conversation with Eliza [Dushku about Dollhouse], and the rest is history, for the moment."
Whedon announced plans for a Ripper series as soon as Head left Buffy in 2001 to return to his home in England. Over the past eight years, the idea has evolved, he said.
"Originally, when he pitched it to me, it was a series, and it was Giles as this sad, lonely man in England without a real reason to be," Head said. "It was pretty much ghost stories. Week by week, some ghost story would somehow affect him. Then he said he didn't want to. By that time, I think he had been affected by Angel, the need to write a weekly story. I think he found at that point the drive was different, so he suggested this one film that we were going to make. He told me this story that he had written, and it's absolutely beautiful, and I hope that one day it gets made, whether it's in the guise of Ripper or whether we just tell it as a one-off TV movie. It's a lovely, lovely story. It's kind of a ghost story. It's also about a man investigating his own soul, and it's fascinating, lovely, sad, and it's classic Joss Whedon. I hope we get to make it one day. From there on in, if it was successful, maybe he could have been convinced to do a series. As I say, now he's back in the seat of doing a weekly series with Dollhouse; maybe he can be convinced otherwise. Never say never, but at the same time, I think it's on a shelf for a while."
Just in case Ripper remains on Whedon's shelf, Head offered hints as to what Giles' nickname means after all. "I don't think we'll ever really know," he said. "I think Ripper just means it's the darker side of someone that you suddenly see that you never ever knew existed. It's a very dark side, and we got to see some of it in Buffy. He's the only guy who's killed an innocent man in Buffy, although Faith did, but Faith was bad. He smothered somebody who ultimately was an innocent bystander. That takes some darkness. That's Ripper."
By MJ at 8:15 PM ON 06/01/09
Let it go, Anthony Head. Let it go.
By melsner at 9:31 PM ON 06/01/09
This sounds a bit like Hellblazer / Constantine, but I mean that as a good thing. It sort of sounds more like Hellblazer than the Constantine film they did with Keanu.
I'd certainly love to see something with Head, Whedon and the Buffyverse.
By Marty B. at 11:09 PM ON 06/01/09
MJ, I doubt Head told the reporter, "Oh, thanks for coming by to chat about Merlin, but what I really want to talk about is a return to the Whedonverse." My guess is the response was to a reporter, for all we know from whedonverse.net or what have you. Same as Ryan Reynolds talking about the proposed Deadpool pic, though I will say Head seems to have more of a story down.
It'd be nice to see something come of this idea; but I think if Dollhouse ultimately gets canned next season, Whedon may be a bit disenchanted with TV, and Serenity, ultimately didn't treat him much better. What _would_ be cool is if Whedon could rope Head into his online laboratory a la Dr. Horrible, and experiment with some sort of Ripper online video thing. Ripper: the online journal of Rupert Giles. Sorta short form stories from the Buffyverse. Just a thought.
By tinmiss at 2:28 AM ON 06/02/09
Very cool, I would to see another Buffy show!!!
By Veiriti at 6:08 AM ON 06/02/09
I would to see SPIKE movie or Spike spin-off tv show!!!
By Nickolz at 7:44 AM ON 06/02/09
What would be really cool is if they made a show with Giles as a teenager or young adult. To know his begginings in witchcraft, demons and watcher's stuff, how he met Ethan Rayne, Olivia and the other already dead folks, what they did together, their ventures and etc.
Of course Rupert might end up as "British Buffy in pants" (you know, teenagers vs. evil) and that would be a risk. But then, I think that it might as well come so much darker than Buffy or even Angel, so I guess it might be good.
Anyways, Ripper will be something different than that. Since Head aproves it, I guess it must be good. So I'll hopefully wait for it.
By ladyrhiannon at 8:25 AM ON 06/02/09
If you check IMDB under Joss Whedon you will see something listing as Ripper in upcoming projects. Unfortunately you have to have IMDBpro in order to see details. This really makes me wonder what is going on with that.
Really like what ASH related as possible story line. With the way Buffy ended I sort of thought he would end up heading the new watchers council. But with what he related in this interview, I guess not.
By Marty B. at 9:05 AM ON 06/02/09
If you're a longtime observer of IMDB, you'll note that most "forthcoming projects" are fan's contributing "wishful thinking" based at best on rumors. If you don't see any mention of scripts being produced or pilots being contracted within the trade papers (Variety, etc.), it's just vapor.
There's also the complication that Whedon views the Dark Horse Buffy comic he's "executive producing" as cannon ... so it'd be hard to place Rupert immediately after the TV series.
By stargazer_1682 at 12:42 PM ON 06/02/09
I think it's impressive he still wants to do it. For so many actors, spending the better part of a decade in a role, they just want to move on and forget about (cough)David Boreanaz(cough)
But ASH seems to be really eager to do it - not just for the work, but because of the story he wants to tell.
A prequel of a teenaged Ripper and his evolution into stuffy librarian Rupert Giles does sound cool; and it would be really dark - I don't think there'd be room for a lot of angsty crap, at least I would hope not.
By cleejh at 1:20 PM ON 06/02/09
I would love to see this. There is always hope! Hang in there ASH!
By D'C'A' at 2:10 PM ON 06/02/09
Dangit, Ben wasn 't an innocnet man, he was a murderer. Of course Giles didn't know that.
And there's enough down time between "Chosen" and the start of the comics, & between the comics, to squeeze in a Ripper movie, plenty!
By Xavienne at 6:40 PM ON 06/02/09
I'd love to see a prequel with all the goodies like Ripper & Ethan & their friends. That would be fantastic. They could even work Tony Head in by having him reminiscing at the start of the episodes, or make it a layered series -- part of the episode is the reminiscence acted out by the younger ones, part of it is Giles working through something with the slayers or the new council.
By lindyxmjh at 12:24 AM ON 06/03/09
Why does everyone want Giles still stuck leading a bunch of annoying teenagers around to fight demons/whatever?
If a Ripper series is ever really created, it should be about Giles solo with a whole new cast of (most likely all British) characters, and the tone should be less action more mystery. That's the only way it would work, especially as a BBC show.
By badblokebob at 7:29 AM ON 06/03/09
I think working with the BBC in the UK TV system would be so different to the over-controlling US networks that, even if the near-inevitable failure of "Dollhouse" does put Joss off TV, he might find making "Ripper" a refreshing break.
Personally, I really hope it happens, and with the abundance of SF/F shows being produced in the UK at the minute ("Doctor Who", "Primeval", "Merlin", "Being Human", even "Survivors" and "Ashes to Ashes"), now's a better time than ever to attempt "Ripper".
Incidentally, a young Giles would never be "British Buffy in pants" -- he'd wear trousers :p
By Black Deva at 7:05 PM ON 10/20/09
Ripper...
I wana see more of Ethan Rayne...
*Whines*
It was Ethan who sparked my interest in Giles' Ripper side, more that anything else. What sort of relationship did they really have, back in those dark old days. I'd want to see something that both looked into the past, and bought Ethan into Giles' future.
Ahh well. A fan can only dream...
By abi at 3:06 PM ON 11/10/09
Just do us all a favor and bring Buffy back. [sigh] It's not like Sarah's doing anything. 'Cept having babies and stuff.
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abi:
Just do us all a favor and bring Buffy back. [sigh] It's not like Sarah's doing anything. 'Cept having babies and s...More »