A 'Buffy' movie remake without creator Joss Whedon?

Over at Entertainment Weekly the comments section on the blog post about the new "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" film is active and growing.  If you check out any of the (currently) four pages of response from the public you'll get the idea that a lot of fans of the Joss Whedon television series are not happy.

Is that putting it too lightly?

Reports are everywhere that Whedon will not participate in this version of the Buffy film, which won't have anything to do with the continuity established in the TV Buffyverse.  That means no Angel, no Spike and likely, no Willow and Xander. 

The clue that Whedon is not in on the story decisions?  His response about the movie via e-mail to EW: "I hope it's cool," he wrote.

Behind this latest remake venture is producer Fran Rubel Kuzui, a producer from the original Buffy feature film and credited executive producer for much of the Buffy series and its spin off "Angel."

The movie would be in association with Vertigo Entertainment ("Dark Water," "Quarantine").  In a Hollywood Reporter story, Kuzui says "Everything has its moment. Every movie takes on a life at some point, and this seems like the moment to do this."

And the time would be right since remakes and reboots are what's getting the clearance for take-off in Hollywood. This new Buffy film is not set up at a studio yet, so Kuzui and Vertigo have their work cut out for them. While It's difficult to get any film made, a movie concept with a track record (TV series, comic book, previous movie) can have a smoother path to the big screen. There's a good chance studio executives would give Buffy a green light -- especially since It may come equipped with a built-in fan base.(?)

However, if the EW comments are any indication, there may be a TV Buffyverse fan revolt in the making.  The lofty challenge for Kuzui and Vertigo is to make this a Buffy film with a new direction and attract enough new fans to offset traditional Whedon-Buffy fans. The gamble was taken and won by the J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" producers.  Can it happen again, I wonder?