David Boreanaz, who portrayed the-vampire-with-a-soul Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, stated that he wouldn’t want to play the character again. Buffy was a beloved television series that aired from 1997 to 2003. The series followed the titular vampire slayer and her friends as they balanced high school (and later college) life with fighting the supernatural. Created by Joss Whedon, and based on the Buffy film that Whedon himself wrote, the series was an enormous success and became one of the defining television shows of the 90s.
For the first three seasons of Buffy, Boreanaz starred as Angel, a roughly 240-year-old vampire who was Buffy’s core love interest for that time. However, unlike other vampires (who are basically demons who inhabit a human’s body in this universe), Angel had a soul. While he still thirsts for human blood, he knew it was wrong to kill. Because of that, he ends up forming an unlikely alliance with Buffy and her vampire-slaying gang. Since Buffy’s vampires never physically age after they’re turned, the centuries-old Angel still had the appearance of someone in their late-twenties.
In an interview with Variety, Boreanaz stated that, even if he was asked, he wouldn’t want to portray Angel again. Boreanaz cites his age as the main factor that would keep him from playing the character (something his Buffy co-star James Marsters has also said). Since Angel isn’t supposed to age, and it’s been nearly 15 years since Angel ended, Boreanaz believes he is simply too old to convincingly play Angel. He did state that he would fully support someone else playing the character. Check out his full quote below:
“I’m all for people redoing it or whatever, but I’m too old. It’s not like we’re the cast of “Friends” reuniting. We’re not hanging out in the coffee shop on a couch. But, you know, with all that technology, they made Robert De Niro look really young. I would encourage them to find somebody else to do it.”
Some kind of Buffy reunion or remake has been hinted at for years. There is currently a Buffy reboot in pre-production, though few details have been made known publicly. Boreanaz confirmed that he wasn’t going to be part of the reboot. Considering that Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Geller, has also expressed that she has no desire to return to the character, it’s unlikely that any kind of Buffy reboot would involve the original cast.
Boreanaz portrayed Angel for around eight years, appearing in 166 episodes between Buffy and Angel, which actually makes him the character who has appeared the most across the Buffyverse. Without even regarding the age issue, it makes sense that Boreanaz feels like he’s finished with the character. But, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing; in an age where it seems like every TV series is coming back, there’s something special about an actor willing to acknowledge that they’ve said what they needed to say. Boreanaz fully supports someone else taking over the role, and maybe one day we’ll get an interesting and unique take on the character in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot.
Source: Variety
Originally from https://screenrant.com/buffy-vampire-slayer-david-boreanaz-no-angel-return/