Wedding Nightmare 2: Spot the Buffy and Lord of the Rings References in the Film!

WARNING – There are some spoilers about “Wedding Nightmare 2” in this article, particularly descriptions of certain scenes. If you prefer to remain spoiler-free, please skip this read.

It’s a well-known fact. When a star joins a film project, they bring along their reputation and the baggage of their iconic roles: Tom Cruise has built his career on this fact, and it’s the essence of casting against type, just like an ordinary object can become a reference to one of their famed roles, as seen anew in “Wedding Nightmare 2” with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood.

In a battle scene with Samara Weaving, Gellar grabs a metal stake and stabs it into Weaving’s shoulder, a clear homage that even those who have never watched a single episode of Buffy would recognize. Later, the character played by Elijah Wood, known simply as The Lawyer, is involved in the wedding of Grace, the saga’s heroine who agrees to marry Titus Danforth (Shawn Hatosy) to save her sister Faith (Kathryn Newton), and he is handed a plate with… a ring on it.

He doesn’t throw it into a well (or mass grave) – that’s Grace’s role as she uses it to rid herself of everyone – but the nod to The Lord of the Rings is unmistakable and adds a layer of humor. But how did these references make their way into the film? And were they suggested by Gellar and Wood themselves? “It was purely by chance, as it was already in the script,” Elijah Wood explains. “I don’t think the ring as a symbol of power was an intentional nod to that. It just worked out nicely.”

“It just worked out nicely”

“It really all came together on set.” “Yes, and I experienced something similar during filming,” adds Sarah Michelle Gellar. “We knew my character had to stab Samara’s character in the shoulder as the following scene had already been shot, but we had to decide what weapon I would use. Thinking about what Ursula might have handy, I thought of this tool used to pack gunpowder when reloading an old pistol, which doubles as a stake on screen. It wasn’t until mid-shooting that we started realizing it, and it really hits you when you see the scene.”

“I didn’t realize it until I saw the movie,” adds Kathryn Newton. “That’s when I saw the scene with Elijah and the ring, and then when Sarah stabs Samara, I saw Buffy. Because you’re playing different characters!” “Better late than never, darling,” Sarah Michelle Gellar replied, amid general laughter. Through this story, the actress, also known for her roles in “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Scream 2,” demonstrates how a star’s image can follow them throughout their career, adding an interesting layer to the concept of continuity.

It’s common knowledge: with rare exceptions, a film is not shot chronologically but in blocks, to make the most of a set and the availability of talent, even if that talent appears at different points in the story. The end may be filmed before the beginning, and nothing is set in stone, to the extent that decisions are made on the fly during production, or a change made for various reasons can influence the rest.

For instance, in the Mission: Impossible series, action scenes are often shot without having determined what leads up to them or what they will lead into in the plot. Or Elizabeth Olsen thought she was acting opposite Daniel Craig (as Thor’s brother) in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” but ended up facing Mr. Fantastic played by John Krasinski due to the former James Bond’s exit because of the pandemic.

“It really hits you when you see the scene”

Just as a project can evolve over its development, filming is a fluid process where things can change, potentially adding more meaning to elements depending on who is involved. And Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood remind us of this with their anecdotes about “Wedding Nightmare 2.”

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