In May 2009, we reported that Fran and Kaz Kuzui were going to re-launch Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a feature film but without the input of Joss Whedon (and after reading Buffy: Season Eight, that might be a good thing).  In a press release, it was announced that Warner Bros. has now optioned the rights from the Kuzuis and that Atlas Entertainment and Vertigo Entertainment will produce.  Whit Anderson has been brought on to write the script.  Atlas' Charles Roven said of the new take "Details of the film are being kept under wraps, but I can say while this is not your high school Buffy, she’ll be just as witty, tough, and sexy as we all remember her to be."  Hit the jump for the full press release.

Here's the press release:

WARNER BROS. PICTURES SHOWS ITS FANGS WITH A

“BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER” REBOOT

LOS ANGELES, NOVEMBER 11, 2010 – Atlas Entertainment announced today it is rebooting the beloved franchise, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with Warner Bros. Pictures. Atlas’ Charles Roven and Steve Alexander will produce the feature film alongside Doug Davison and Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment (The Ring, How to Train Your Dragon, The Departed). Whit Anderson is writing the script.

Warner Bros. Pictures optioned the rights from creators Fran and Kaz Kuzui, and from Sandollar Productions (Sandy Gallin and Dolly Parton), for Atlas and Vertigo to produce. Buffy the Vampire Slayer first appeared as a film in 1992, subsequently becoming a cult hit and spawning the wildly popular television series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz, among many others.

“Whit approached us with an exciting idea about how to update Buffy,” said Roven. “There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character’s return to the big screen. We’re thrilled to team up with Doug and Roy on a re-imagining of Buffy and the world she inhabits. Details of the film are being kept under wraps, but I can say while this is not your high school Buffy, she’ll be just as witty, tough, and sexy as we all remember her to be.”

Whit Anderson is represented by CAA, Wirehouse Entertainment and Julian Zajfen at Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca, Fischer, Gilbert-Lurie & Stifflemen.

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