Why Eliza Dushku Turned Down Her Own Buffy Spinoff
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" remains one of the great TV shows, at least in part because of its supporting characters. The series boasted a supporting cast that became as popular and beloved as the titular slayer herself. Whether it's the Scoobies, David Boreanez's Angel, or the hugely-popular character that was originally supposed to be killed off early, Spike (James Marsters), one of the series' great strengths was the fact that its central character was, at least by the series' end, essentially one of many protagonists.
"Buffy" debuted on the WB back in 1997, but by 1999 Angel had proven popular enough to get his own spin-off, with "Angel" airing on the same network that year. In that first season of the spin-off show, Buffy's former beau is joined by Eliza Dushku's Faith, another slayer who was "called" following the death of Kendra, yet another slayer "called" after Buffy temporarily died in season one. It's all a bit complicated, but the point is that Faith first arrived in "Buffy" season three and represented a darker version of the slayer, directly contrasting with Buffy and leading to palpable tension, and eventually a full-on face-off between the two.
Following the events of season 3 and its tumultuous finale, "Graduation Day" — still one of the best "Buffy" episodes — Faith moved to LA where she appeared in "Angel." But she would remain part of the "Buffy" universe even after that story arc drew to a close. By the time the character returned for the seventh and final season of "Buffy," she had reconciled with her slayer counterpart, having evolved from antagonist to ally. But if show creator Joss Whedon and his writers had their way, that wouldn't have been the end of Faith's on-screen exploits.
'Faith meets Kung Fu'
Considering its array of memorable characters, it's not surprising that over the years there were numerous "Buffy" spin-off series in the works. Besides "Angel," which is the only spin-off that was actually made, Joss Whedon had plans for a Giles-focused project called "Ripper," which the showrunner described as "Cracker with ghosts" (per the BBC). There was also talk of a "Slayer School" spinoff that would have seen Alyson Hannigan's Willow leading the group of newly-activated slayers from the "Buffy" series finale. Unfortunately, none of these shows really ever got off the ground.
One spin-off idea that did seem to have a chance of being made, however, was a show focused on Faith and her travels post-season seven of "Buffy." Writer Tim Minear previously explained his idea for the show to the BBC (via JanuaryMedia), saying:
"The show was basically going to be Faith meets Kung Fu. It would have been Faith, probably on a motorcycle, crossing the earth, trying to find her place in the world. I'm sure it would get an arc at some point, but the idea of her rooted somewhere seemed wrong to me. The idea of her constantly on the move seemed right to me."
Unfortunately for Minear, Eliza Dushku was at a point where she felt like she needed to focus elsewhere. As the actor explained in an IGN interview, "I love Faith. She's my girl and she's been really good to me, but I kind of just wanted to try something else. Purely that." But in reality, it wasn't just "purely that."
In the shadow of Buffy
Elaborating on her feeling that it was time to "try something else," Eliza Dushku went on to explain how she'd "played that character on and off for five years" at the time, and that her gut feeling was to try a new project. She also clarified that her decision "had nothing to do with [her] not trusting Joss and his team of writers," who she deemed "amazing."
But there was more to Dushku's decision not to star in a Faith spin-off series. As the actor told IGN:
"I just personally felt like... It would have been a really hard thing to do, and not that I wouldn't have been up for a challenge, but with it coming on immediately following the show, I think that those would have been really big boots to fill. I think it would have been compared to 'Buffy.'"
Fair enough. Topping "Buffy" was never going to be an easy feat, and Faith would still get to live on in the pages of official comic book storylines. Following the end of "Buffy," Dushku starred in the supernatural drama series "Tru Calling," which ran for two seasons, before the actor re-teamed with Joss Whedon for his Fox series "Dollhouse." But "Buffy" fans will always remember her best as the badass slayer that gave Buffy a run for her money.