BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER’s James Marsters on the Reboot and Where He Thinks Spike Is Now

The convention, which took place June 13-15, had many memorable moments, including a panel reuniting some of Angel’s worst enemies. But the highlight was the reunion of the enduring undead couple, James Marsters and Juliet Landau, who played Spike and Drusilla. The two talked extensively about their on-screen romance and real-life friendship. Landau was cast first as Dru. She then told the audience the producers wanted her to approve of whoever got cast opposite her as Spike. Marsters said, “I’m only sitting on this couch because you liked me.” He was her first choice, and the rest is history.

Inevitably, however, during the Q&A, someone brought up the subject of the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot. The pilot of which is now in pre-production at Hulu, and which just cast its titular slayer. Here’s what Marsters had to say about the highly anticipated revival:

I’ve been told, in no uncertain terms, that I need to shut my damn mouth. And I would not say that you should take anything from that. It’s just that we are trying…. [Marsters then corrects his pronoun usage] what I will say is that the people behind the camera are some of the best people in Hollywood. Chloe Zhao who is directing the pilot, directed Nomadland, and understands all about intimate character-driven drama. And she also directed a Marvel movie, man! She’s one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood.

And the showrunners for the show, their current show is Poker Face, which is one of my favorite shows on television. And a screenwriter friend of mine said “James, every screenwriter friend of mine is a Buffy fan. A lot of us decided to become screenwriters because of Buffy.” There is a feeding frenzy in Los Angeles right now, everyone is trying to get on the show, and they are going to have their pick of anybody that they want. So there are a lot of reasons to be excited… but there’s also a good reason to just wait till it’s on television.

During the panel, someone asked Marsters and Landau just where they think Spike and Dru are in 2025. Landau reminded fans that Dru appears regularly on her own Buffy podcast Re-Vamped with Juliet Landau. But Marsters answer shows that he’s clearly given this subject a lot of thought. Here’s what he said on the subject of William the Bloody’s current whereabouts:

I think Spike is probably a demon slayer now. He’s got a soul. He’s probably traveling town to town, looking for evil, because he does like to kill. [Speaking to Juliet Landau] He’s probably avoiding you [Drusilla] very much, because he would never kill you. I could see Spike trying to do good in the world, very aware that A: he couldn’t kill you, and B: He couldn’t watch you do what you do, which is killing innocent people. He knows that if Dru is in Atlanta, then he’s not in Atlanta.

The moderator then asked if Spike is on a redemption arc, to which Marsters replied “Yes, but it’s a very rocky road. I think he’s trying not to give up, he’s trying to help out in this world. But I think he’s often making it worse. That’s the problem. He’s thinking “Buffy always finds a way to do the right thing,” and he just doesn’t have that magic. He tries to do the right thing, loses his temper, and blows it up. That’s what I think.”

So if Spike does indeed return to the world of Buffy in the new series, will any of Marsters’ ideas for where he thinks Spike is now factor in? Impossible to say, but the concept of “Spike, rogue demon hunter” is certainly appealing. And it makes total sense for where Spike would find himself in the present day. And for people reading this, screaming that Marsters is 62 and therefore “too old” to play the immortal vampire?

That’s not the concern it once was. Fans have been de-aging Marsters digitally to look like his younger self via deepfake technology for years. We can only imagine what professionals could do with time and money behind them. It’s our hope that somehow, Spike roars into New Sunnydale on his bike, ready to get up to his old tricks.