Credit: 20th Century StudiosA new era for Buffy is underway — but it’s no longer limited to the upcoming revival series.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer first appeared on our TV screens in 1997. It ran for seven seasons until 2003, with the spinoff series Angel (1999 — 2004) starring David Boreanaz running alongside it. Now, a long-awaited revival of the parent show is officially in development.
Recently, the Buffy revival set for Hulu confirmed its new Chosen One in Ryan Kiera Armstrong (2022’s Firestarter, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew).
Sarah Michelle Gellar will be reprising her role as Buffy Summers while also serving as one of the show’s EPs alongside Dolly Parton (the world-famous musician), returning under her Sandollar banner like she did with the original, and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland), who’s attached to direct the pilot. Sisters Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face) are penning the script.
New Cast Members Added
Now, Variety has reported that five new actors have been added to the cast in addition to Gellar and Armstrong: Faly Rakotohavana (Unprisoned, Secret Society of Second Born Royals) as Hugo, Ava Jean (A Week Away, Law & Order: SVU) as Larkin, Sarah Bock (Severance) as Gracie, Daniel di Tomasso (Witches of East End, Major Crimes) as Abe, and Jack Cutmore-Scott (Oppenheimer, Frasier) as Mr. Burke.
No returning actors other than Gellar have been confirmed. However, she said in a recent interview that she’d love to get all the characters from the ’90s series back in some capacity.
The original cast includes 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).
Sadly, Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister, Dawn, passed away earlier this year.
Buffy and Angel Are Returning
While the revival series is underway, Disney has moved the Buffy comic books from BOOM! Studios to Dynamite (they’d previously resided under Dark Horse). This means that new Buffy and new Angel comics are expected to appear on shelves soon.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer is truly one of the crown jewels of modern television, and comics fans know that she’s more than made her mark in this medium as well,” Dynamite CEO/publisher/owner Nick Barrucci said in a statement.
“The genius mix of its small-town vibes with fantasy and horror, the seamless touches of humor, incredible strong female characters that we’ve been proud to always represent at Dynamite — it all works together for a perfect set of characters and framework for stories. Including Angel! Which we’re excited to contribute to and build for new and returning fans!”
Related: ‘Buffy’ Revival: Sarah Michelle Gellar Wants the Original Cast Back (But There’s a Twist)
Writer Kelly Thompson, who comes hot off the hells of DC’s “Absolute Wonder Woman” series, and before that, “Jem & The Holograms”, will be bringing both Buffy and Angel to life on the page for a whole new generation.
“Her passion for these characters is second-to-none,” Dynamite series editor Nate Cosby said of Thompson. “The interweaving story she’s crafted for both books is going to knock everyone’s socks off.”
“In my early days trying to figure out how to be a writer and what stories mattered to me and why — no heroine quite broke through for me like Buffy Summers,” Thompson said.
She continued: “She was somehow everything my young geek heart had always wanted but hadn’t known to ask for. Something about that delicate alchemy of horror, fantasy, and comedy paired with a hero so pure of heart and yet flawed and relatable was… impossible to deny. I fell deeply in love with Buffy, and following that, her whole world.”
Thompson also elaborated on the Angel side of the franchise, saying:
“Her ex-boyfriend is now a supernatural detective in Los Angeles you say? Inject it directly into my veins! But unlike a lot of other worlds I loved, the world of Buffy and Angel somehow never fell to the wayside. I could always come back to it and find something new, or something I’d missed, or something I needed. And I hope this new story we’re telling can do the same for old and new fans everywhere.”
David Nakayama will be providing cover art for the two titles.
How Will the Buffy Comics Fit in Canonically?
It remains to be seen how these new comic books fit in with the Buffy revival series.
The Dark Horse Buffy and Angel comics, which ran from 1998 until 2018, are still considered canon with the original show (unless the revival says otherwise). However, the BOOM! Studios run, which began in 2019, is a reboot that exists in its own contained timeline.
There’s no release date for the Buffy revival or the new comic books.
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