Sarah Michelle Gellar (I Know What You Did Last Summer, Dexter: Original Sin) is wishing for many happy returns in the upcoming sequel series of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, according to new interview obtained via Vanity Fair and accessed via The Hollywood Reporter. The actress, who will take up the crossbow once again as Buffy Summers in the long-awaited revival announced this February, confided that her dream “is to bring back everyone who has died,” while acknowledging that “space will have to be made for new stories as well” by “find(ing) a balance between new and old characters.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gellar further stated that the reboot “will be lighter than the last few seasons” of the original series, which saw the teenage Slayer and her friends face off against cabal of supernatural threats with increasingly deadly consequences. The exact plot details are still unclear, though, with Hulu simply referring to the project as an “untitled Buffyverse pilot.”
Also taking up the mantle of the Slayer in the reboot will be newcomer Ryan Kiera Armstrong (Anne With An E, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew), though the exact parameters of the two’s relationship is unclear. Gellar commented on the casting choice in May via another statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, stating, “from the moment I saw Ryan’s audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side. To have that kind of emotional intelligence, and talent, at such a young age is truly a gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room.”
One person involved with the original Buffy series who likely won’t be returning is its original showrunner Joss Whedon (Toy Story, The Avengers), who reportedly has not been in present in Hollywood in an official capacity after a litany of sexual misconduct allegations were directed at him in 2020, according to a report from Deadline. Instead, the pilot will be directed by filmmaker Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals), and Gellar herself will serve as one of several executive producers.
In the same interview reported on by The Hollywood Reporter, Gellar stressed the need to bring Buffy into the modern age as a guiding light for the continuation. “One of the surprising aspects of Buffy is that it’s always been a crossover series,” she stated. “We’re trying to figure out how to modernize the themes of the series, especially what it means to feel like an outsider in a world dominated by social media. What we want to explore are the space-time boundaries that affect society today.”
The original Buffy The Vampire Slayer series is available to stream in its entirety now on Hulu.