What is up with all of these recycled rumors? First the Britney threat rears its hellish head again, then Spike is leaving Buffy and going to Angel just like he was last year? Come on, people who make up rumors, don't you have enough creativity to come up with something new? Something like this:

Perseus over at Ain't It Spoilery News recently reported that a very reliable source from the set informed him that James Marsters has been signed to portray the younger version of Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars: Episode Three. Marsters is also reported to be in the running to play Gambit in X-Men 3 as well as a character known as "The Comedian" in the upcoming Batman: Year One project, a character which, as comics fans know, would be fated to become the Joker in subsequent sequels.

Since Marsters will be required to travel to Australia to begin filming scenes for Star Wars this fall, he has asked to be released from his contract on the hit TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, on which he has played vampiric villian-cum-leading man Spike for the last five seasons. Rather than writing the character Spike out of the show, officials at Mutan Enemy are looking to recast the character. Reported to be in the lead for the part is Freddie Prinze, Jr., who is engaged to the show's star, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Gellar suggested that Prinze take over the role upon learning of Marsters's departure. It is rumored that after seeing the increasingly explicit sexual nature of Buffy's relationship with Spike, Prinze was only too happy to volunteer for the role.

See? Now that's an original rumor right there, and it would leave me all kinds of conflicted about whether to be happy about the prospect of James on the big screen playing beloved characters or despondent as hell over Spike. Anyway. As funny as it would be if that got picked up and started to spread (like the telephone game!), I suppose I should reiterate that this is a joke and I just made all of that up just now. Movie people still don't appreciate the wonderfulness that is James Marsters, he's still going to play Spike next season, and as far as I know FPJ isn't having anything to do with the show next year. Thank God.