The Buffy reboot getting scrapped at Hulu is now fueling a second wave of backlash online, with some fans arguing the project was doomed by what they see as feminist and “woke” writing.
Reactions picked up after Robert Meyer Burnett posted a page from the reported pilot script to X, featuring dialogue that immediately lit up social media.
In the scene, a character says, “I didn’t want to take away your agency, babe. You hate it when I dim your light,” only for the response to be, “That is so you, trying to weaponize my feminism against me. I’m going home.”
For critics, that exchange quickly became “Exhibit A” for why the reboot may have turned off audiences before it ever made it to series.
A lot of the reaction online is now centered on the idea that Buffy was being reshaped around present-day identity politics instead of the tone that made the original series a hit.
Disney’s changing DEI climate is adding fuel to the theory
The timing is why many fans think there may be more to the story.
Disney has already been reported to have scaled back or changed parts of its DEI efforts. Axios reported in 2025 that Disney was adjusting its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to focus more directly on business outcomes.
That is now being viewed through a bigger political lens, especially after President Donald Trump recently shared a meme on Truth Social referencing reforms that included “Disney Ends Key DEI Practices.”
Because of that, some fans are connecting the dots and arguing the Buffy pilot may have arrived at the wrong time for the kind of messaging shown in the leaked dialogue.
Buffy is not the only Disney project getting pulled back
The Buffy fallout also comes right after another Disney project was shelved.
The Hollywood Reporter recently reported that Disney’s live-action Robin Hood remake is not moving forward, after director Carlos López Estrada bluntly said, “It’s dead, sadly.”
That has added to the perception that Disney is rethinking projects that either do not fit its current priorities or do not feel commercially strong enough to justify moving ahead.
The cast and creative team did not exactly sound shocked
Another detail getting attention is the way Sarah Michelle Gellar and others responded after the cancellation news broke.
Gellar said she was “really sad” and thanked Chloé Zhao for reminding her how much Buffy means to her and the fans, but she did not sound blindsided by some last-minute reversal.
Entertainment Weekly also reported that Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who was supposed to play the new Slayer, responded publicly after the news, which gave the impression the team had already been living with uncertainty around the project.
That has led to more speculation that the pilot may have been in trouble for a while, long before Hulu officially pulled the plug.
