History WhatCouldHaveBeen / Angel

* A pretty sad WhatCouldHaveBeen from this show: [[spoiler:You know Cordelia's [[BackForTheDead pathetic death by coma]]? Instead, she was supposed to wake up and kill Jasmine at some point.]]
* According to Creator/TimMinear, the original plan for season four was to have Cordelia be the BigBad, culminating in her fighting Angel. Creator/CharismaCarpenter's pregnancy meant that the arc had to be reworked.
** It's also possible that had Carpenter not left, Cordelia would have filled Harmony's role in season five.
* Joss originally planned for Whistler (whom we saw in "Becoming") to appear to be a main character. When the actor's schedule didn't work out, he created Doyle.
* There was also talk of Doyle coming back in Season Three or Four as a villain. Creator/GlennQuinn's death quashed this. In season five, however, antagonist [[spoiler:Lindsey]] pretends to be Doyle, so they got some mileage out of that one at least.

* After the series ended, there was a lot of talk about a series of {{made for TV movie}}s with the characters, but no one wanted to fund them.
* When ''Buffy'' ended, Creator/NicholasBrendon offered to move to ''Angel'', but Whedon didn't feel that Xander would fit well into Angel's life and Spike was shunted over instead.
* David Greenwalt, one of ''Angel'''s executive producers, wanted the main character of his own show ''Series/{{Profit}}'' to reappear as a Wolfram and Hart employee. But due to rights issues and conflicts with Creator/AdrianPasdar's schedule, the idea was scrapped.
* Giles was going to have a guest spot in "[[Recap/AngelS05E15AHoleInTheWorld A Hole in the World]]" but it would have been too expensive to get Creator/AnthonyStewartHead to fly from England - and so Drogyn was created to fill the role instead.
** [[spoiler: Considering this, it's possible (but unconfirmed) that Giles was also originally supposed to be the one Angel killed as part of his [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten initiation into the Circle Of Black Thorn]] in "[[Recap/AngelS05E21Power Play Power Play]]", a role Drogyn ended up playing in that episode. This seems especially possible since Angel DOES end up killing Giles in the Buffy Season 8 comic, in the [[NeckSnap same manner]] as he killed Drogyn no less.]]
* Creator/SarahMichelleGellar was meant to make more guest appearances as Buffy in season five:

* The character of Jhiera, the demon in "[[Recap/AngelS01E13She She]]" was considered to become a recurring character. "[[Recap/AngelS01E16TheRing The Ring]]" bringing up her demonic species (the Vigories of Oden Tal) was likely a reference to establish her as a part of the greater tapestry. But ultimately, this didn't happen.
* Creator/MorenaBaccarin was originally scheduled to play Jasmine. She lost out to fellow ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' castmate Creator/GinaTorres. She was also originally supposed to play Eve, but Creator/{{Fox}} wouldn't allow it due to her involvement in another television show at the time. This TV show never aired, and was cancelled after production on one episode.
* Had the show got a sixth season:
** Illyria would have been split into Illyria and Fred, with Creator/AmyAcker playing both roles in tandem. This is the reason for the statement that Fred's soul was destroyed by Illyria's possession, which comes off as just being pointlessly cruel in the final version. [[spoiler: Fred eventually did return in the post-finale comic series ''Angel and Faith'', and she now shares a body with Illyria, as previously planned had there been a sixth season of the TV show.]] Plus, the Fang Gang would have summoned Willow to perform the separation spell.
** Oz would have returned, most likely to help Nina with her werewolfism. Creator/SethGreen has said he was never approached about that idea, so the story is up for debate.
** According to Creator/AlexisDenisof, Wesley wasn't supposed to die. Had there been another season, he and Illyria would have featured in an arc in which the transformation of Illyria to Fred would have been extended over many episodes and taken to a "much deeper, darker place" than it briefly was in "[[Recap/AngelS05E15AHoleInTheWorld A Hole in the World]]".

* After the series ended, there was a lot of talk about a series of {{made-for TV movie}}s with the characters, but no one wanted to fund them.

** The writers were allegedly planning for Spike and Angel to hook up at some point. There's a throwaway line in "[[Recap/AngelS05E21PowerPlay Power Play]]" that mentioned they did at one point, so I guess we sorta got that.
** Gunn would have become a vampire (this happens in the comics).

* Creator/MorenaBaccarin was originally scheduled to play Jasmine. She lost out to fellow ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' castmate Creator/GinaTorres. She was also originally supposed to play Eve, but Creator/Fox wouldn't allow it due to her involvement in another television show at the time. This TV show never aired, and was cancelled after production on one episode.

** Oz would have returned, most likely to help Nina with her werewolfism. Creator/SethGreen has said he was never approached about that idea, the story is up for debate.

* There was also talk of Doyle coming back in Season Three or Four as a villain. Glenn Quinn's death quashed this. In season five, however, antagonist [[spoiler:Lindsey]] pretends to be Doyle, so they got some mileage out of that one at least.