Whedon Watch 2006 to 2008 (Future Projects)

[nerd4hire]

INDEX Whedon Watch 2006 to 2008
Rumours, Hoaxes and Facts

Page 1
starts at 02-13-2006

~ Joss gives an update of his projects
~ Goners
~ Spike movie
~ Wonder Woman
~ Joss for Sailor Moon - Hoax
~ Buffy Season 8 Comic
~ End of Angel Spinoff story (for now)
~ Homage to Stan lee comic
~ Joss to do Runaways for Marvel

* * *

Page 2 (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=12530&page=2)

~ Stan Lee Homage
~ Joss to direct episode of The Office
~ Buffy Season 8 comic
~ Joss no longer doing Wonder Woman
~ Goners
~ SugarShock - online comic
~ Ripper
~ Fray
~ Serenity Sequel
~ Summer Glau mini ballet

Joss posted an update at Whedonesque, that tells (kinda) where he is with his future projects. It goes like this -

Roll call:

Spike movie! Still trying.

Buffy comics! Wrote ish one, fun fun fun. Looking for a penciller.

Serenity comics: Brett and I have been very very busy and it's rude of you to bring it up. But it's gonna be tight!

Serenity sequel! My phone is silent and withdrawn.

Wondy Gal! It's all about momentum, baby. And cooking class.

Goners! Ready to polish after WW is complete. LOVED the speculation on the character Mia's name. Can't wait to hear what you all say about Violet. (Besides the fact that she is not in any way ultra.)

How I Met Your Mother! I'm truly addicted. "Don't be a hero, Sherbotsky!" Come ON, people!

Jack Green! He shot my two favorite movies last year. Crazy props!

Cheese! Why won't it stop flirting with me?

http://whedonesque.com/comments/9528#more

Edit

There is discussion on this here -

http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=23441

[goldenboy]

I love both of the pencillers Joss has worked with, Karl Moline and John Cassaday. Moline has a great sketch of Buffy in the back of the Fray TPB. Cassaday's stuff is so pristine and precise...beautiful.

[nerd4hire]

Getting closer. Here's the most recent word from Joss -

How about Goners and Wonder Woman? Can you tell us more about those?

Not a whole lot. I am still writing Wonder Woman. It is very awesome but incredibly unfinished, but I should be finishing that in a little while and then I’ll have a better idea of which film is actually going into production. But I can tell you that the film will be about introducing you to Wonder Woman. She'll be wearing the outfit and there will be the bracelets, the golden lasso and Greek gods. She comes from a civilisation where she's rather perfect, so she's the opposite to Buffy in many ways, but she's going through an adolescent rite of passage because she's new to the world.

But how about the Buffyverse? You mentioned in the webchat you guys did with us when the film came out that you were hoping to return to that soon.

We are trying to put together a Spike movie – I don’t know if it’s financially feasible. That’s what I’ve been working towards for the past several months, and I should know fairly soon whether or not something’s going to happen with that.

http://www.empireonline.com/interviews_and_events/interview.asp?IID=459

I'm thinking maybe he's thinking direct to DVD for Spike because in another recent interview Joss says this -

Is there any chance of Buffy or Angel coming back?

We've been discussing how to do things with a different format-maybe something straight to DVD that wouldn't be a full series. There are various characters that I'd want to explore further.

[nerd4hire]

Sounds like Wonder Woman is getting close. This is from an interview with Joss at the premiere of Nathan Fillion's new movie, Slither -

Q: Will we see some bullets and bracelets action in Wonder Woman?

Joss: Hell yes. It’s Wonder Woman. If it were Batman, she’d dress like a bat. It’s Wonder Woman so she’s got bracelets and a lasso and an invisible jet.

Q Are you finished with the script? Almost. Days away. Have you had any creative confrontations with Mr. Silver?

Joss: He hasn’t read it so ask me again in a week.

[drtroy]

I am pretty excited about this...what about the Illyria spin off? I remember someone said maybe one with her and Spike..that would be amazing.

[nerd4hire]

Here's a "RUMOUR". Notice I capitilized rumour, and put it quotation marks? I'd suggest against taking this seriously, but it is out there so it needs to be mentioned. It goes - Fox wants to make a live-action Sailor Moon thing with Lindsay Lohan starring, and Joss Whedon running the show.

http://www.moviehole.net/news/20060418_lindsay_lohan_as_sailor_moon.html

http://www.cinematical.com/2006/04/18/lindsay-lohan-is-sailor-moon/

[Xander]

You know that face that Willow has when Kennedy says something suggestive about sharing beds. The kind of look of shock, dismay and confusion. My face right now.

Also commonly known as "WTF?!?ONE!!"

[nerd4hire]

Amy Acker says there won't be any Angel spin-offs in the near future. Fox won't play nice with Joss. Little gem - according to Amy, Gunn was going to become a vampire.

Discussion here -

http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=25124

Oh, and no big surprise, but the Sailor Moon turned out to be completely bogus, of course.

[nerd4hire]

A release date of October was offered for the Season 8 Buffy comic Joss is writing.

Discuss it here (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=25249)

[goldenboy]

You guys!! Did ya see this?! This is this best news I've heard, uh, this week! My fave comic book writer teamed up with my fave comic book artist in a tribute to my fave comic character...and Stan Lee. Too cool.

Bendis: The second half of the book will be stories that are written and drawn by people working at Marvel now who are going to write stories that are a tribute to you.

Lee: Oh, wow! Really?

Bendis: Yeah. Joss Whedon, who created “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” is doing one.

Lee: My God. I met him at a dinner years ago. What a nice guy.

Bendis: He’s actually working with an artist that I work with a lot named Michael Gaydos. I’m reading the project rundown right now and it says:

STAN LEE PROJECT:
Five self-contained one-shots, beginning in September and coming out twice a month. Each book features a lead story written by Stan in which he interacts with one of the Marvel characters, a second story by modern day talents in some way paying homage to Stan’s body of work and accomplishments, and a third classic reprinted story written by Stan featuring the character from the first story.

SPIDER-MAN: Stan & Olivier Coipel/Joss Whedon & Michael Gaydos

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/000167284.cfm

[goldenboy]

WHEDON: I just did that tribute thing they’re doing to Stan. I did a story for that with Michael Gaydos.

BENDIS: I know. I’m right after you with [Mark] Bagley.

WHEDON: Oh cool! Oh my God! Gaydos’ pencils were so amazing.

BENDIS: Aren’t they so nice? He doesn’t get nearly enough credit.

WHEDON: [Gaydos’s art] is so textured and so rich and so on the edge of comic books and so human. I was loving life because, you know, the story is really silly, so that’ll sort of help cover it.

Yay Joss! You have such good taste, heh. Did you guys check out this interview? It's good. It's all over the map. A little obscure at times if you don't know comics, but lots of fun.

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/000495675.cfm

[nerd4hire]

It's official. Joss says there won't be any DVD movies. Money Issues.

Pehaps this lends credibility to Amy Acker's previous remarks saying the same thing. She also said these were going to be Spike, Faith, and Willow movies with appearances by Illyria, and Gunn.

Joss says stuff that was going to be in the movies will now be in the upcoming Buffy comic series he's writing.

Links and Discussion Here (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?p=384339#post384339)

[goldenboy]

Wow. This is for real..?

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/001595302.cfm

I got the 1st volume of Runaways ages ago cos I like Brian K Vaughn. Now I guess I'll actually sit down to read it, heh. Has anyone read Runaways?

JOSS WHEDON TALKS RUNAWAYS
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=83669

[nerd4hire]

I've never read it, but I also was just reading about this. Sounds interesting.

Quotes from the links.

Even though Whedon’s calendar is full for the next few years—with writing and directing a “Wonder Woman” feature film, finishing his 24-issue commitment to Astonishing , and the Buffy and Serenity comics at Dark Horse—when the writer heard Vaughan was exiting one of his favorite titles, he quickly took inventory to assure himself he was far too busy to pick up another monthly title.

Then he called Marvel and told them he wanted to write the book anyway—handpicking artist Michael Ryan ( New Excalibur ) for the title.


Asked to succinctly describe the series to new readers who maybe are not familiar with it up to this point, Whedon replied, “Group of kids find out their parents are supervillains, then they (this is where the title so brilliantly comes in) run away”

There's also board discussion on Runaways here -

http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=26885

[goldenboy]

I read vol 1 of Runaways last night. It's good. Geared towards young teens without question. But it's funny, smartly written. Distinct characters. Very Vaughan-ish (therefore, similar in spirit to Joss's stuff.)

I know it's discouraged to link to other forums (er, fora?), but it's just fun to follow this Vaughan/Whedon lovefest, lol.

Whenever I get to hang out with Joss (he says casually), I always end up awkwardly rambling about how I feel like I'm living one of the delusional fantasies of Rupert Pupkin from King of Comedy, and that I actually have the real Joss tied up in my hotel room. Then Joss laughs nervously, and tells me that I've been using my chopsticks backwards all night.

It's horrible.

But to say that the dude was a massive influence on my life wouldn't even begin to cover it. Buffy, Angel and especially Firefly all made me want to be a better writer and a better human being. Joss's shows taught an entire generation of young typists that genre isn't something to be transcended, but to be embraced, that it's more important for dialogue to be true than "realistic," and that it's always better to tell a story that a few of us will cherish than one that everyone will kinda like.

Three or four San Diego cons ago, I sheepishly floated a copy of the first Y: The Last Man collection to Joss with a note telling him how much I dug his work, and he was unbelievably cool enough to write back and say that he was already aware of my stuff from Runaways, which he was compelled to pick up because of Jo Chen's amazing first cover (nice one, Jo!).

At a time when I was pretty sure NO ONE was reading Runaways, Joss would always dash off insanely nice emails to tell me how much he liked a stupid line of Chase's dialogue or whatever. Those little messages were enough to keep my furnaces pumping (eww), and Joss' support behind the scenes doubtlessly played a big part in Marvel's decision to keep the book alive.

From day one, he's been the Runaways' shadowy benefactor, keeping the kids safe from all the evil adults who wanted them dead.

Depressingly, now that he's taking over, I find out that Joss's ideas for the book are all infinitely better than mine. Seriously, he wrote this one sentence in his overview that was so good, I had to wake my wife and tell her that I was going to kill myself. And when I told Ruth the idea, she AGREED THAT I SHOULD.

As for how long Joss is going to stay, I told him the Sacred Order of Runaways Writers has only one rule, that an author is not allowed to leave until he or she has found a bigger, better replacement. So until JK Rowling starts returning his calls, I think we'll be able to get a few issues out of the old boy. (And yes, the book will still be monthly, whiners! Numfar is a demon of speed.)
http://bkv.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8758

[nerd4hire]

For those who follow the Whedon Watch thread, I split it into three threads - one for each year from 2004. If you want to find anything now, there's an index at the beginning of each thread.

[nerd4hire]

That homage to Stan Lee comic with the Joss Whedon penned Spiderman story inside comes out tomorrow.

Board discussion Here. (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=27009)

[nerd4hire]

According to Entertainment Weekly Joss will direct an episode of The (American) Office.

Board Discussion Here (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=30347)

[Randy Giles]

I heard about that, and my reaction was similar to: EFFIN SCHWEET!!

The Office = Best Comedy on TV

For me it has far surpassed what little I saw of the UK one due solely to the characters. Especially Jim and Pam.

[nerd4hire]

I notice on the previous page there was a mention of October as a possible release date for Buffy 8. Update that to April.

[Black Eye Guy]

April!! What happened to march 7th!! (Was there ever a march 7th, or am I makeing this up, thats so depressing!)

[nerd4hire]

Oh damn, I knew I should have double-checked that. Thanks for catching that one. March 7 for issue 1. April 4 for issue 2.

[Black Eye Guy]

Oh thank god! the idea of haveing to wait till april would have killed me! lol

[nerd4hire]

Joss says he won't be doing Wonder Woman now.

We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that's never gonna work.

Discussion on this is Here (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=30680)

[nerd4hire]

This Goners thing sounds close enough to start crossing one's fingers.

And now you’re writing and directing a new movie called “Goners” for Universal, right? What’s that project?

“Goners” is a supernatural thriller I wrote after “Serenity” and is being produced by Mary Parent.

What’s the status of it?

I’m doing a rewrite [of the script], which for a long time eluded me mostly because I was working on “Wonder Woman,” but perhaps not coincidentally, as things began to go south with “Wonder Woman,” corners began to unfold and what I needed to do became very clear, so I’m working on that right now. [So I’m working] on a draft I feel will be ready to give to the studio for, hopefully, a light of greenishness.

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/movies/wonderwoman/004355846.cfm

[Randy Giles]

I'm gonna have grandchildren before Goners comes out. Dammit.

[nerd4hire]

Here's what Goners will be about if it ever gets made.

It's about a girl named Mia - people know that - who sort of sees in a mystical way the underbelly of the city and of human society, and goes through a kind of extraordinary hell, and we all have a lot of fun in the process.

It's very much the kind of fiction that I tell. That is to say, I love this character and I've been seeing a lot of horror movies that are torture-porn, where kids we don't care about are mutilated for hours, and I just cannot abide them.

This is much more a story about -- literally about human connection and whether or not it's possible.

But it's told on a very mystical scale and, in a way like everything I've tried to do including Buffy, it's an antidote to that very kind of film, the horror movie with the expendable human beings in it. Because I don't believe any human beings are.

http://blog.gonersmovie.com/

[Randy Giles]

Reminds me of a novel I read recently called "Nightlife", mixed with standard Buffy/Angel stuff. Should be cool but I highy doubt it will be scary at all.

[nerd4hire]

Joss is doing a three part comic online called SugarShock (http://creative.myspace.com/groups/_mh/mdhp/pages/issue01/sshock.html)

Board discussion HERE (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?p=447602#post447602)

[nerd4hire]

Ripper looking more like it actually will happen.
Drew Goddard and Joss have written a horror film
Oz will be in Buffy Season 8
Hope for a Serenity Sequel
Something coming with Fray.
A Joss written mini-ballet by Joss for Summer Glau? I'm not sure.

See Here (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?p=447759#post447759) for details.

[VoodooGRL]

I think Joss should direct a episode of Eureka. It is IMHO the best show on TV right now. It also has the best cast since Angel.

[nerd4hire]

I believe David Greenwalt, the co-creator of the Buffy/Angel TV series was showrunning that one in the first season, wasn't he?

Funny thing about Greenwalt. Of all the major players at Mutant Enemy he's the one that seems to have just split his ties, and never looked back. If there's something to that, I wonder what it is.

[nerd4hire]

Numfar do the dance of Joy.

Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku, and Tim Minear are uniting to do a TV series called Dollhouse.

Board discussion HERE (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=34623)

More news HERE (http://after-darkness.com/showthread.php?p=29080#post29080)

and

HERE (http://after-darkness.com/showthread.php?p=29079#post29079)

[nerd4hire]

In a new interview Joss said he will do nothing on Dollhouse until the writer's strike is over.

Concerning the planned Summer Glau ballet short, he said this...

Tell us a bit more about the dance project with Summer, we know you've been writing the music for that.

I've been working for a long time composing the score for a ballet short that I've wanted to film because of Summer. It's a little piece and we have a choreographer we're about to start working with it. I don't know if she's suddenly going to be shooting again or what, but we hope to shoot this hopefully in the late spring or early summer. It's something I've dreamed about pretty much ever since I met her.

What would you do with it after you finished it?

I don't know ... I guess go to festivals! I've never been to any festivals, so I guess I'd go to those with my short film. (He breaks into an impromptu little "I'm an indie short filmmaker guy" dance).

Board discussion on the interview is HERE (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=36665).

[Randy Giles]

Isn't the strike over tomorrow, pretty much?

[nerd4hire]

Well...didn't you already answer that question yourself in the thread concerning Joss's remarks on Dollhouse HERE (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=36694), where Joss was quoted as saying...

The day the strike is over, assuming the entire infrastructure of Hollywood has not collapsed, I go to work on it. And not the day before.

and you replied...

So, basically, he should be going to work tomorrow

So if you tell me the strike officially ends tomorrow, I'll believe you until I hear different.

[nerd4hire]

When Joss was out on strike he wrote three short musical for the internet with a few relations. I guess all Whedons write. Must be in the genes. His father and grandfather wrote too. It goes into production tomorrow.

Full story, and board discussion HERE (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?p=500408#post500408)

[nerd4hire]

I think this one from an MTV interview, dated 7/9/08 is the most recent update on Joss's current projects.

GONERS - Whedon is working on the script, which he describes as a horror fantasy about a young woman who gains powers. The story is a "very personal thing about human connection and questioning whether there is such a thing at all." Currently backburnered by Universal.

CABIN IN THE WOODS - Co-written with BUFFY alum and CLOVERFIELD writer Drew Goddard. Goddard says: "It’s genius, it’s funny,” Goddard says. “It’s got a harder and darker edge, but it’s also got classic Whedon qualities. It’ll rip your heart out and be heartfelt at the same time." An original take on the cabin in the woods sub-genre. Whedon is also producing this project.

DOLLHOUSE - A return to FIREFLY network FOX. BUFFY's Eliza Dushku is starring, Amy Acker (Fred on ANGEL) is a recurring character, and Steven DeKnight is writing. Regarding the Buffyverse alumni filling up the cast, Whedon says: "I tried not to make DOLLHOUSE a family reunion, but I reluctantly read Amy, I realized I was the biggest idiot alive. I mean, how can I not have them come back? Have you seen them act?"

DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG - We've been keeping you up to date on the webisodes, which is set to air on July 15, 17, and 19. Whedon refers to it as "Joss' friends having a goof". Most of us spend our friend-bonding time drinking as many beers as we can, but Whedon, his brothers, and some friends used their downtime during the Writers' Strike to put together a three-part musical starring Neil Patrick Harris as a supervillian trying to get into the Evil League of Evil. Nathan Fillion plays his superhero nemesis, and Felicia Day plays the girl he likes at the laundromat.

Other projects - Working on BUFFY comic, putting short film SERVING GIRL with Summer Glau on hold.

iFMagazine.com: JOSS WHEDON DISCUSSES UPCOMING PROJECTS (http://www.ifmagazine.com/new.asp?article=6477)

[nerd4hire]

And an update on The Cabin in the Woods.

It's Horror.
It's been greenlighted by MGM.
Should start filming within 6 months
Drew Goddard is directing. It's his directorial debut.
Filming mostly around LA, because Joss wants to keep an eye on both TCitW and Dollhouse.

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=3&id=57731

[Randy Giles]

Very interested to see Joss doing actual, straight-up horror.

But can he do it? I wonder...

[KhaoticLove]

A spike movie. *explodes with excitement*

[nerd4hire]

You mean, "wouldn't a Spike movie be nice", not "there's a Spike movie on the way", correct?

[KhaoticLove]

Yes.
If there is going to be a spike movie Id probably cry with tears of joy.

[nerd4hire]

Well unless you've heard something I haven't there is no Spike movie being planned at this time.

But yeah, wouldn't that be something, eh?

[KhaoticLove]

Yea same but just the thought of there being one in the future maybe, rocks.

[nerd4hire]

There were a few comments at the comic-con Dr. Horrible panel which hinted to possible future projects.

Dark Horse Editor Scott Allie kicked off the panel by running down a list of once and future Joss Whedon Dark Horse collaborations. Allie assured fans that more "Serenity" comics are on the way, slated for late this year or early next. Allie also said that the "Captain Hammer" comic on MySpace Dark Horse Presents was not the last "Dr. Horrible" tie-in that Dark Horse was planning, and that Whedon's other contribution to MySpace DHP, "Sugar Shock," would be available in print soon in the MySpace collection.

With the title character of Whedon's first comics work, "Fray," guest-starring in the current arc of "Buffy: Season 8," another fan asked if there was a chance of the future slayer getting her own series. Whedon explained that while fans won't see a "Fray" series in the foreseeable future, he isn't ruling it out. "I'd like to," Whedon said. "It's a question of how much time we have."

Whedon said "Dr. Horrible" was intended to be a model for a new way to put out media. He hopes it will help create a new creative community that includes "all of us, and maybe not so much some other people." Whedon was quick to add that he loves the work they're doing at "Dollhouse," he doesn't want to eliminate the studio system completely, but "things are changing."

and...

The writers confirmed that they fully intended to tell more "Dr. Horrible stories. Whedon said his initial thought was to make the next story very dark, like "Godfather II." "But then I looked at what we'd made and thought, 'Maybe more like 'The Incredible Mr. Limpet,'" Whedon said.

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: CCI: (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17488)

[raine4rose]

hope there would be a spike movie... And also wish it would be James Marsters again...
Hope the movie will be the reunion of Buffy and Spike...
Cant wait to see it...

[nerd4hire]

Except a Spike project only exists on Fan Wish lists at the present time. There is no current talk on such a thing from the people who would make it happen.

Dark Horse editor Scott Allie has offered hints of a Spike appearance in season 8, but that's the most you can really hope for realistically at this time.

It would be great to be wrong about that though.

[nerd4hire]

It's starting to sound like Joss and Summer Glau are almost ready to go on their long talked about mini-ballet colloboration.

So when are we going to see this classically trained ballerina really make the most of her talent?

Leave it to Joss Whedon to come up with a solution. Ever since casting her in a bit part as a ballerina on “Angel,” and then re-hiring her for “Firefly” and “Serenity,” he’s been percolating on a project they could do together, and he’s come up with one: a short film/ballet called “The Serving Girl.”

Like he did for the musical episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” Whedon’s composed the music — only this time it’s less sing-along, more score (Glau says it’s “beautiful”). They’ve teamed up with a choreographer as well, so now it’s only a matter of scheduling before they can start shooting, since now she has “Terminator” and he has “Dollhouse” keeping them busy.

“She’s even busier than I am. She’s busy terminating everybody,” Whedon said. “We’ve both very dedicated to the concept, and it is the next kind of dream for something to do, but it’s like working with any other artist. If they’re good, they’re very often busy, and you gotta wait.”

“We’ve been waiting to do this for years,” Glau said. “But when you’re on a series, you live there, and that’s all we do. So we’re going to have to wait until the next hiatus, but that’s not even that far away, so keep your fingers crossed.”

MTV Movies Blog (http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/10/13/terminator-tv-star-summer-glau-looks-forward-to-dancing-for-joss-whedon-in-the-serving-girl/)

[nerd4hire]

A rumor has surfaced saying a Buffy movie is being considered in light of Twilight's success at the box office.

Discussion Here. (http://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=41480)