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Credit: (L) MGM Television / (R) 20th Century StudiosBuffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 — 2003) might have an enormous cult following, but the television series has been dead and buried for over 20 years. But, just like vampires, it’s now getting a new lease on life, as the pilot episode for a revival series has been announced.
Recently, Deadline reported that Oscar winner Chloé (Nomadland), is set to direct a Buffy pilot episode for Hulu, with Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face) on writing duties. Sarah Michelle Gellar will also be reprising her role as the iconic character, Buffy Summers.
Along with Gellar and the original show’s executive producers, Gail Berman and Fran Kuzui & Kaz Kuzui, Chloé Zhao and the Zuckermans will also executive-produce.
We don’t know anything else about the project at this point, however, since the show ended, Buffy has continued in the form of several comic books, novels, and other forms of tie-in media, so there’s still plenty for fans to sink their teeth into while they wait.
Either way, Sarah Michelle Gellar is unlikely to be the star. Instead, it will probably draw blood from a new actor, with Gellar taking on mentor duties. In other words, there will be a new “Chosen One” (and a new town, too, seeing as Sunnydale was destroyed in Season 7).
But who will play the new vampire slayer? We’ve handpicked seven talented stars who could pick up the stake and join an all-new Scooby Gang to plot out vampire-slaying patrols.
Who Could Replace Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy?
Jessica Rothe Oozes Buffy Vibes in Happy Death Day
We’re probably not the only ones who think that Jessica Rothe channels her inner-Sarah Michelle Gellar as Tree Gelbman in the sci-fi slasher comedy films, Happy Death Day (2017) and its sequel Happy Death Day 2U (2019).
Rothe oozes charisma as “the final girl” who’s caught in a Groundhog Day-style time loop, in which she also has to fend off a crazed serial killer. It’s not too dissimilar from vampire slayer duties if you think about it (Buffy even has its own time-loop episode).
At 37, some might argue that Rothe is “too old” to play a teenager, but who’s to say the new Buffy series would need to find the character during her teenage years?
Related: The 5 Most ANNOYING Characters in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel’
McKenna Grace Is No Stranger to Ghosts and Ghouls
Though she’s only 18 years’ old, McKenna Grace has starred in numerous films and television shows. Her most notable projects are Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), in which she plays Phoebe, the granddaughter of original Ghostbuster, Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis).
Grace has also appeared in other supernatural flicks, such as Annabelle Comes Home (2019), so she’s clearly no stranger to ghosts, ghouls, and other paranormal entities. This makes her a perfect candidate for a new teen vampire slayer.
So, if there’s something strange in your neighborhood, whether it’s ghosts or vampires, you’ll want to call McKenna Grace.
Maya Hawke Has Seen “Stranger Things” Than Vampires
Maya Hawke, the daughter of Hollywood legends Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, is best known for playing teenager Robin Buckley in Netflix’s Stranger Things (2016), the sci-fi horror/drama series that has taken the world by storm in recent years.
While Hawke, 26, is part of the main ensemble in the show, along with the likes of Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), and Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), she still feels like something of a side-character at times.
Hawke’s character is sweet, compassionate, charming, vulnerable, and both funny and capable in dangerous situations. Sound familiar? We think it’s time for Hawke to pick up a stake, replace Sarah Michelle Gellar as the new slayer, and relocate from Hawkins to Sunnydale.
Related: All 7 Seasons of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Ranked Worst To Best
Jenna Ortega Also Goes to a School Filled With Vampires
Jenna Ortega is officially a global megastar. After playing the titular character in the hit Netflix show, Wednesday (2022), the reboot/spinoff of The Addams Family, Ortega became a household name. But, like McKenna Grace, she already had an extensive acting resume.
Not only did she play one of the lead teenage characters in the Netflix animated series, Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2020 — 2022), she’s also one of the main final girls in Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023).
But it’s the 22-year-old star’s performance as Wednesday Addams that makes her qualify for the role of a new vampire slayer, as it would certainly be refreshing to see a somber, darker, and sardonic version of the character. Ortega has also kicked Ghostface’s butt a few times in the Scream films, which also looks great on her application.
Isabella Sermon Could Bring a New Energy to Buffy
Isabella Sermon might not be the most obvious choice to replace Sarah Michelle Gellar as a vampire slayer in the new Buffy revival series, however, all you need is a little reminder of Sermon’s character in the last two Jurassic World films.
In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022), Sermon, 18, plays Maisie Lockwood, a young girl who discovers she’s a human clone. Naturally, Maisie doesn’t handle this very well, and continues to struggle with it in the 2022 sequel.
It sounds like a similar responsibility to being called upon as “The Chosen One”. Battling dinosaurs in gothic mansions isn’t a far cry from vampires, either. The British actress is also very handy with a wood axe and a Swiss army knife in the latest Jurassic film.
Related: ‘Buffy’ TV Series Reimagining Brings Back Several Iconic Villains
Halle Bailey Has Dealt With Real-Life Trolls
Halle Bailey sparkles as Ariel in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2023), the live-action adaptation of the 1989 animated classic. Unfortunately, racist trolls overshadowed the film even before it hit theaters, where it didn’t make as big a splash as we’d hoped.
The 24-year-old singer-songwriter and actress would make an excellent vampire slayer in the upcoming Buffy series. Bailey also has an incredible singing voice, and we know Buffy the Vampire Slayer is no stranger to musicals!
Unfortunately, though, casting the African-American actress as Buffy Summers in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot would likely cause just as much controversy as The Little Mermaid. But we’re sure Bailey can handle otherworldly entities of both varieties.
Sasha Calle Has Already Played an Iconic Superhero
Despite playing Kara Zor-El/Supergirl in The Flash (2023), Sasha Calle is yet to become a household name, but playing a slayer in the Buffy reboot could change that. The 29-year-old actress is easily one of the better parts of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) installment.
Calle made her first and only appearance in the DCEU as the Kryptonian superhero, and brings a certain edge to the role we don’t often see in Supergirl (or Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman for that matter). And then, of course, there’s all the super-powered fighting.
The actress would really need to pull those punches if she’s to replace Sarah Michelle Gellar and play a new vampire slayer, though. After all, we’d like a brand-new television series to last longer than just the pilot episode.
Where Can I Stream Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is now streaming on Disney+.
Buffy stars Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel), Anthony Head (Rupert Giles), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Seth Green (Oz), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Eliza Dushku (Faith), and James Marsters (Spike).
Michelle Trachtenberg 1985 – 2025
On February 27, it was reported that Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Michelle Trachtenberg had tragically lost her life at the age of 39.
The Harriet the Spy (1996) star played Buffy’s sister, Dawn Summers, who first appeared in the Season 5 episode “Buffy vs. Dracula” and became a regular character until the show’s season-seven finale “Chosen” in 2003.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Michelle Trachtenberg.