Joss Whedon Says There's Still Hope For BUFFY Spin-Off RIPPER

I'm sure most Buffy fans will remember back when there was talk of Rupert Giles - Buffy's mentor/father figure played brilliantly by Anthony Head - getting his own solo series. Apparently it was something that very nearly happened, and would have been set in Giles' native UK, back when he had earned the nic-name "Ripper". It was assumed that since so much time had passed that Whedon must have given up on the idea, but not so. In an in-depth interview with The AV Club, the director still sounds enthusiastic about making the show - at least in some form!..

“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.”