‘Buffy’ Reboot Confirmed: Sarah Michelle Gellar Joins in New Role as Series Shifts Canon

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'Buffy' star Sarah Michelle Gellar in 'Dexter: New Blood'

Credit: Paramount+ with Showtime

Sink your teeth into this: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is finally being resurrected for a new generation of fans.

The news dropped on February 4 when Deadline reported that the iconic television series, which aired for seven seasons between 1997 and 2003, is being revived for a new chapter.

However, with Sarah Michelle Gellar herself expected to reprise her role as Buffy Summers, it sounds like this isn’t a Buffy reboot but a continuation of the original show.

According to the article, sources claim that the series is nearing a pilot order from Hulu. Oscar winner Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Marvel’s Eternals), who admits she’s a lifelong Buffy fan, is set to direct the pilot, with Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face) on writing duties.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reboot

The Buffy reboot will also be executive-produced by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chloé Zhao, and Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, along with the original series’ EPs, Gail Berman and Fran Kuzui & Kaz Kuzui. It will be produced under 20th Television and Disney sibling Searchlight TV.

World-famous musician/songwriter Dolly Parton is also expected to executive-produce, having been an uncredited producer on the series through her company Sandollar. Last year, Parton indicated that a Buffy “revamping” was in the works (no pun intended).

More recently, Sarah Michelle Gellar said she was open to returning to play Buffy Summers.

“I always used to say no, because it’s [Buffy the Vampire Slayer] in its bubble and it’s so perfect,” she said during her appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show last December. “But watching [And Just Like That] and seeing [Dexter: Original Sin], and realizing there are ways to do it, definitely does get your mind thinking, ‘Well, maybe.’”

Gellar is referring to the Sex and the City follow-up and the new Dexter prequel (both of which she appears in), two examples of classic shows that have recently found new life.

The cast of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Related: New ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Intro Available To Watch Online

Other Returning Stars

It is not known at this time whether any other actors from the original series, such as Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Head (Rupert Giles), David Boreanaz (Angel), and James Marsters (Spike), will be returning.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, who wrote the 1992 film of the same name starring Kristy Swanson in the title role, has no involvement in the Buffy reboot.

James Marsters as Spike in the 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' season 6 episode "Seeing Red."
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Related: ‘Buffy’ TV Series Reimagining Brings Back Several Iconic Villains

Buffy Seasons 8–12 Already Exist

While the revival sounds like a continuation, it is not known whether it will take place in the same timeline as Buffy.

Since the show ended in 2003 and the spinoff Angel in 2004, the Buffyverse has continued in other forms of media, namely novels and comic books, with the latter (Dark Horse) serving as a canonical continuation in the form of seasons 8 through 12, which Joss Whedon and a number of writers from the series were heavily involved with.

More recently, it continued with the likes of the Audible series “Slayers: A Buffyverse Story”, co-written and co-directed by Amber Benson, who played teen-witch Tara Maclay in Buffy.

Though part of the Buffyverse, “Slayers” takes place in an alternate reality where Buffy doesn’t exist. As such, the new revival series might take advantage of the Multiverse concept, which remains popular with other franchises.

Or, it might serve as the official eighth season, which would probably involve wiping the Dark Horse comics from canon, as it’s unlikely to ask fans to scour through years’ worth of material to catch up on everything. Currently, seasons 8–12 make up around fifty per cent of Buffy canon (not including the spinoff show, Angel).

Buffy looking sad in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
Credit: 20th Century Studios

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 scenario is the most likely, however, Buffy is unlikely to be the lead. The Season 7 finale “Chosen” revealed that young women around the world were given Slayer powers, which opens the door to many possibilities in the reboot.

In 2013, Gellar told SFX Magazine that, while she was “all for them continuing the story”, she wasn’t necessarily interested in returning, saying, “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 Buffy were the horrors of adolescence. I think I look young, but I am not an adolescent.”

It’s likely Buffy will assume a mentor role in the new series in the same way she trained under the tutelage of Anthony Head’s librarian and “Watcher”, Rupert Giles. Of course, this would mean that the show will introduce a brand-new Slayer. Either way, Gellar’s role will undoubtedly be very different compared to her previous one.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources suggests that this will be the case; that the Buffy reboot will focus on a younger Slayer.

Buffy holding a stake in the 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' intro
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Where Can I Watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is now streaming on Disney+.

It stars Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel), Anthony Head (Rupert Giles), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Seth Green (Oz), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Eliza Dushku (Faith), and James Marsters (Spike).

What are your thoughts on the Buffy reboot? Let us know in the comments down below!

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