‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ To Return With Sarah Michelle Gellar As The Lead
by Erik Amaya
Well wonders never cease.
Deadline reports Hulu is moving forward with a pilot for Buffy the Vampire Slayer — but the nature of it defies description as it appears to be more revival than reboot. Sarah Michelle Gellar is set to return as Buffy Summer while Eternals filmmaker Chloe Zhao will direct. Poker Face veterans Nora and Lilla Zuckerman are providing the script.
Specific details about the plot are, naturally, under wraps. But we can speculate wildly about a middle-aged Buffy still training new Slayers while also trying to have a life of her own. Anyone think she’s still seeing the Immortal?
It is currently unclear if any other members of the original cast will return alongside Gellar, but Deadline reports at least some are likely to sign on. The site also says a writers’ room is assembling, suggesting Hulu is expecting the new Buffy to go to series. But one person who will not be involved in any capacity is the program’s original creator, who left the public-facing part of the business following a number of misconduct allegations in 2021 and an ill-received Vulture article meant to rehabilitate his image.
Despite the creator’s personal history, fans of Buffy will no doubt be thrilled to see the program continue two decades after it left Buffy with the chance to get on with her life. Well, some anyway. A previous attempt to reboot the concept entirely did not go forward as streaming services started to see a limited appeal for Buffy without its original cast. It remains to be seen, though, if the program’s original fanbase will be on board for this. Like Buffy, they also spent the last 20 years living life and all involved may learn there’s no way back to Sunnyvale after that.
