If i remember right, from what Joss has said in various interviews at least, Wesley dying was one of the few alterations they made to the final episode once they knew that the show wasn't being renewed. Had season six been a sure thing then i doubt his demise would have been so definate.

Having said that, with Joss who knows? Maybe the only way we will discover if Joss had a resurrection planned for Wes is if he uses it in one of these proposed movie storylines. Yet another reason to hope they happen ;)

Disciple of Spike | July 07, 15:48 CET

Based on the few things we knew about season 6, I was thinking that if Angel had been renewed that after Illyria and Fred were split Illyria would have gotten some of her powers back enabling her to go and rescue Wesley, that sounds far too easy though. If Wes' death wasn't so permenant in the original script I reckon he would have been killed by magic rather than a knife.

I hope these movies happen, they don't require David Boreanaz or Sarah Michelle Gellar at all, so many characters could lead a movie (most of the could lead a series), the only thing that I could see stopping them is the networks, as the supporting actors all seem keen to return to the roles.

Ghost Spike | July 07, 17:05 CET

Some back story on Wes would be great...hazing at public school and the Council, his days as a rogue demon hunter...I could see it.

A colleague of mine at work who watches her Jossverse DVDs again and again cannot bring herself to re-watch the Angel finale...because, of course, of Wesley's death. Her 8 year old daughter had to comfort her and tuck her in to bed that night.

So, yeah, there's an audience out there for more Wes!

Chris in Virginia | July 07, 18:43 CET

I think you're right, Warlock. Joss definitely just made him get stabbed with a knife because that's how he felt when the show was cancelled.

narky | July 07, 19:02 CET

And don't forget, in the Whedonverse, death is not a permanent state for any character. Who has died and not come back in some form or other? Except of course for Doyle, but had the actor not died, it might not have been that far fetched for the character to have returned.

The Host | July 07, 19:14 CET

I think they would've found a way to bring Wesley back. Even in this interview he doesn't make it sound like Wesley was gone for good and talks about them exploring more in a sixth season. I think the key would've been Illyria doing the time warp again and getting there quicker to save him. It makes sense and is a plausible plot line device. And it's something she would want to do because Wesley was the only character she felt emotion for and a connection with.

Wesley was one of the best Buffyverse characters ever and if they are going to do any sort of movies or spinoff he'd be the most logical one to try and base a story around.

Firefly Flanatic | July 07, 19:19 CET

Remember that Illyria had lost her time related powers. Anyway, in the latest Dreamwatch, it's strongly implied that Wesley's death was the major thing they added to NFA after cancellation. If season six had happened, I doubt Wesley would have died at all. AD also gave some hints that they would have explored Illyria and Wesley's bond growing stronger, and then Wesley facing a choice when they find a way of bringing Fred back.

KernelM | July 07, 20:01 CET

Yes, Illyria lost most of her powers when they used that gizmo to drain her but that isn't saying they couldn't give them back if they needed to. My point is, if Joss had a plan for Wesley and if there are to be movies or spin-offs, I'm sure they'll find a way to bring him back.

Firefly Flanatic | July 07, 20:54 CET

Wesley was not slated to die in the original season finale -- however, another character was: Lorne.

Whedonage | July 07, 21:00 CET

The Host - Tara has also not returned from the dead. And I keep on cursing my TV for it

Apocalypse | July 07, 22:27 CET

Apocalyspe, wasn't that because Amber Benson didn't want to do it? I heard a rumour she was supposed to appear as a spirit or ghost in series seven (I haven't seen most of series seven yet).

The Host | July 07, 22:33 CET

Yes she was to appear in Conversations With Dead People but declined. I think she didn't want to upset her fans or something like that.

Simon | July 07, 23:15 CET

I'm not entirely sure if I'm remembering this right, but I think I heard that before Amber Benson pulled out because she didn't want to be evil the First was supposed to spend most of it's time in her form, when she pulled out they had it in Buffy's body most of the time.

Sure I read that Tara was supposed to be resurrected in "Chosen" but I'm sure that's not true.

Even if Glen Quinn hadn't died I think his death was supposed to be permenant, like Jesse's in "Welcome To The Hellmouth" to show that some people do die, and stay that way. Joss wanted to put Jesse in the opening credits for the first episode but couldn't afford it, so he did it with Doyle in the first few episodes of Angel.

Ghost Spike | July 07, 23:43 CET

Jesse was an option to appear in 'CWDP' as well.

Simon | July 07, 23:57 CET

Simon - Is the Jesse thing legit? I follow the writers interviews pretty closely & I don't recall hearing that from them. Some speculation on-line but not anthing from Whedon & Co.

Also, Whedon has been pretty clear about having a large plot in mind for Tara's return in S7, which Ms. Benson turned down.

Unitas | July 08, 01:30 CET

I remember reading the Jesse thing in an interview. They were either going to have Xander talk to Jesse/The First or Willow talk to Tara/The First. They decided on Willow, but obviously the Tara thing didn't happen. That's why Xander wasn't in CWDP. It was either going to be him or Willow.

Invisible Green | July 08, 01:47 CET

Okay, well I'm taking this with a Gibraltar-sized grain of salt. It's very exciting, but I'll believe it when I see it.

For the record, however, the four characters I most want to see anything about in the future are Wesley, Faith, Illyria and Spike... in that order. Of course it's worth mentioning that even if it were true that each telefilm would focus on a particular character, that doesn't mean other characters wouldn't appear in it. A Wes-centric episode could have Faith, Illyria and Spike in it as well (in which case it would potentially be the PERFECT film and I could likely die content). A Spike-centric film could have Giles, Andrew and Dana (the crazy Slayer), etc. It's not like there will only be one character per film.

Haunt | July 08, 02:35 CET

Invisible Green - You may be right . I would just like a source on it. The Tara/Cassie visitation to Willow fits snuggly with Willow's overall seasonal arc. I don't quite see what Jesse's return would do except thrill the most hardcore of fans for an episode. Could be wrong.

I am a little surprised by how many people seem to think Whedon & Co. would have killed off Wes if NFA hadn't been the series finale. I doubt that one of the show's most popular characters would have been killed off if the show was going to be picked up, and I doubt they would have killed him off then resurrected him the next season. I mean, one of the great things about 'Shells' is how it deals explicitly with how the concept of resurrection is getting overdone in the Buffyverse.

Unitas | July 08, 04:48 CET

"I doubt that one of the show's most popular characters would have been killed off if the show was going to be picked up"

Well, they did that with Spike though didn't they. Killed him off the very last episode of Buffy and he was resurrected the very first episode of the next season of Angel. But it was done in a realistic, plausible way and I'm just saying they could do that with Wesley too if they get the go aheads for movies. They also did it with Buffy dying at the end of season five and brought her back again for the first episode of season six.

Just think on this. If Buffy had ended with her death in season five and was cancelled and Joss had an idea to bring her back and an opportunity to do it in a movie do you think he'd pass up the chance. He knew there was a possibility that there would be another season yet he still killed her. We don't know what's in his head. Yes, he killed off Wesley whether or not it was to be because it was the series finale or not but if there was a plan behind it I could very easily see them bringing him back.

Firefly Flanatic | July 08, 06:20 CET

Joss WAS going to bring Tara back...alive and well. Back with Willow, where she should be. Damnit all it didn't work out. That was one of the greatest disappointments to me in all of the Whedonverse. Tara and Willow were THE couple. They were what true love is about. I hold a tiny, miniscule amount of annoyance towards Amber for not coming back in Season 7. I love the girl...but Willow and Tara! Take one for the team!

Anyways, here's a snippet from an interview with Joss on IGN Filmforce. The Link to the interview follows. If you haven't read this interview, do it! It's 10 pages and a HUGE look into Joss' twisted cranium.

"WHEDON: Amber didn't want to do it. She wanted to do other things. I had a whole – I used to tell people, "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to have her in a couple of flashbacks, keep her alive, and then at the end ..." I had a whole show figured out that ended with the return of Tara. I used to cry every time I pitched it. It was going to be Tara's her one true love, people are going to be blown away, they'll never see it coming – except on the Internet – and it's going to be just about the biggest thing. Quite frankly, Amber just didn't want to do it – which is her decision. I was like, "Okay, the thing where I cried, and we all cried, and I told you about? That's gone. So, instead, we're going to go out and find somebody really hot, and we're going to make this about moving on, because that's the only option we have. I don't want Willow stuck in typical gay celibacy on TV. I'm interested in where her heart will go once she's lost her true love, so let's do that instead." So, you know, hence Kennedy."

Grrr....Kennedy.

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/425/425492p1.html

Haborym | July 08, 09:23 CET

Quite excellent interview that I had not seen before! Thank you, Haborym.

SoddingNancyTribe | July 08, 10:12 CET

Ressurect this and ressurect that. I think it is overdone, and I think the attitude sort of negates the whole point of "nobody's safe in the Whedonverse".

I remember being shocked (like everyone else, I imagine) when Angelus killed Jenny, and I was like "crikey! I didn't see that coming!", but nowadays, what with the new slogan being "death doesn't mean you're dead" I'm really not all that emotionally affected by the notion of death on these shows.

That said, I was worried that Wes would die, but when he eventually did, I was like.. Okay, there was slight tearage, but I knew that if the show came back, he'd likely be up and running in notime, which did put a damper on the whole devastation thing.

They sort of established in Seeing Red that natural death can't be undone, and they'd screw that logic five ways from sunday if they revived Wes in the conventional way of "woo, I have a picture of Wes here and I hope he doesn't come back all stinky".

Play Painkiller to find out how I'd like to see Wesley come back, if at all. Only it'd be.. not so much purgatory assassin as earthly redeemer.

SimonM7 | July 08, 11:16 CET

Adding my thanks to Haborym for the link to the Joss interview. Great read, and one I had missed.

palehorse | July 08, 18:36 CET

Well there's plenty of ways to bring Wes back, but remember, Joss feels the story has to 'earn' it. So it would be a big thing. It took most of S6 of Buffy before her resurrection was 'earned' back. Spike on Angel about half a season give or take and that was mainly because it was a new show and they probably didn't want to bog that show's continuity down too much with Spike's baggage.

So if Wes would've been brought back, or might be for a movie, then it would not be simple. And I agree just having him alive again does negate the power of the moment of his death in NFA. But then he is one of my favs....ahh I'm torn.

As for Tara, yes as the quote says, Joss fully intended to reunite Willow and Tara in Chosen. And I understand Amber not being keen on being 'evil with arms folded' for a season, but still.....it is sorta thanks to her now that W&T were not reunited and we got saddled with the whole Kennedy debacle.

Sigh....

EdDantes | July 09, 05:37 CET

I totally agree about lots of stuff. For one, yeah, Wes is my favourite too, and the Illyria/Wes scenes totally made up for whatever weaknesses the season may or may not have had (I sort of need to rewatch to gain perspective).

It's at the same time sort of like with old Wesley though. I loved old Wes, that goofy, occasionally ass kicking Wes seen up until his post-throat cut, rugged, John McClane kickassness. I love him after that aswell, but occasionally I rewatch some season 1 and 2 stuff for that fun Wes fix.

Now I know today that bringing that old Wes back is not only impossible from a narrative standpoint, but it also doesn't accomplish anything, and I feel sort of the same way about ressurecting him.

That said I have full faith that Joss could make it into an awesome story. Joss can make anything into an awesome story.

SimonM7 | July 09, 21:46 CET