The clever hacks the Buffy reboot can use to get vampires Angel and Spike back in the show

Let’s address the elephant in the room: It is not going to be easy for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot to bring back major vampire characters like Angel and Spike. It’s not that David Boreanaz and James Marsters aren’t up for reprising their iconic roles, it’s the fact that both of Buffy’s lovers are meant to be undead, immortal vampires who live forever with their useful visage. It has been 21 years since these men played the vampires, and even by the time the show ended the characters had clearly aged. With David Boreanaz in his 50s and James Marsters in his 60s – here’s how the Buffy reboot can work around the actors age to bring back major vampires like Angel and Spike.

All theorising of course, but good hacks.

De-aging

The most common way to do this right now would be to use digital affects to de-age James Marsters and David Boreanaz. This has been done in films like Scream, where Skeet Ulrich was de-aged to appear young as Billy Loomis. I can see the production going for this but obviously depends on budget because it is quite costly to make it look actually good.

Phone calls

Angel or Spike can appear over the phone talking to Buffy. A bit naff but hey, better than nothing. And if you want immortal undead youth looking vampires it might be the most practical way you’re gonna get them.

Alternate realities

Buffy has never shied away from parallel universes – some of the show’s most popular episodes are centred around an alternate reality vampire version of Willow! A human Angel and Spike could make some form of appearance.

A change in magic / vampirism 

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One of my personal ideas for how the show could tackle this, especially as a big fan, is this. If you’ve kept up with the canon Buffy comics, you’ll know that a big part of the series following Willow’s spell at the end of the TV show is changes in how magic functions in the universe. I hope the show vetoes a lot of what the comics do, but it would be interesting if something has shifted in how vampires function in the universe because of something magic related.

This could mean that vampires now age, or appear older – still immortal but just age up infinitely. Kind of like how The Master in season one couldn’t change back to a human face because he was so old.

I hope the writers have their thinking caps on, because if the Buffy reboot all goes ahead the vampires will be expected to return and people NEED Angel and Spike back. Darla and Drusilla can come too!

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