Sarah Michelle Gellar has revealed that she has been talking to Chloé Zhao about the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival for three years
Six and a half years ago, it was announced that a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was in development with Monica Owusu-Breen, co-creator of the TV show Midnight, Texas, writing, executive producing, and serving as showrunner. It was said that the new show would be “contemporary, building on the mythology of the original.” That project never made it into production – and earlier this week, it was revealed that we’re going to be getting a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival instead, with Sarah Michelle Gellar returning to the role of Buffy Summers and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals) directing the first episode. Now, Gellar has taken to social media to confirm that a revival is in the works, and that talks started three years ago!
The talks must not have gone very far at first, because in early 2023, Gellar said she had no interest in ever playing Buffy again. She told SFX magazine, “I am very proud of the show that we created and it doesn’t need to be done. We wrapped that up. I am all for them continuing the story, because there’s the story of female empowerment. I love the way the show was left: ‘Every girl who has the power can have the power.’ It’s set up perfectly for someone else to have the power. But like I said, the metaphors of Buddy were the horrors of adolescence. I think I look young, but I am not an adolescent.” But, the talks went on, and by the end of 2024 she had changed her mind. Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show (via Deadline), she had this to say about resurrecting Buffy: “It’s funny, I always used to say no, because it’s in its bubble and it’s so perfect. But watching Sex and the City and seeing Dexter, and realizing there are ways to do it, definitely does get your mind thinking, ‘Well, maybe.’“
Today, Gellar wrote on social media, “So… you might have heard some news this week, but I realize you haven’t heard from me. Three years ago, I got a call from my dear friend and mentor, Gail Berman. She told me that she wanted me to sit down with Chloé Zhao to hear her take on a potential Buffy revival. I was blown away that Chloé even knew who I was, but, as I’ve always done, I told Gail that I just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again. We’d always been aligned on that, but this time I heard something different in her voice. I eventually agreed to go (mainly just to meet Chloé) and our twenty minute coffee quickly turned into a four hour adventure. We laughed, we cried, but mostly we both talked about how much this show means to us. While I didn’t agree to anything at that meeting, I did shock myself by agreeing to continue the conversation. These conversations did, in fact, continue over the next few years and eventually we added the incredible Nora and Lilla Zuckerman to our little tribe until ultimately, one day, we landed on an idea. I have always listened to the fans and heard your desire to revisit Buffy and her world, but it was not something I could do unless I was sure we would get it right. This has been a long process, and it’s not over yet. I promise you, we will only make this show if we know we can do it right. And I will tell you that we are on the path there. I feel so lucky to be on this journey with these four unbelievably talented women, all of whom love Buffy as much as I do. And as much as you do. Thank you to all the fans who never stopped asking for this. This will be for you.“
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival is reportedly nearing a pilot order from the Hulu streaming service, with Gellar on board to star and Oscar-winning director Zhao, who is a self-professed lifelong Buffy fan, set to direct. Zhao will be working from a script by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face). The revival is coming our way from 20th Television and Searchlight TV, where Zhao has a first-look deal. Deadline adds that the revival is “starting a writers room soon, a sign that Hulu and the studios have high expectations for the project going to series. It is unclear yet whether other original Buffy cast members would return; that is considered likely.”
This is being referred to as “the next chapter in the Buffyverse.” The revival is being executive produced by Gellar, Zhao, and the Zuckermans, as well as the original series’ executive producers Gail Berman of the Jackal Group and Fran Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui of Suite B. Also executive producing the pilot is Dolly Parton, whose company Sandollar was behind the original show. In case you’re wondering, “Buffy creator Joss Whedon, who also wrote the 1992 movie the series was based on, has no involvement in the reboot. He has not worked in Hollywood in any official capacity since facing a slew of misconduct allegations in 2021.”
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