The final page from the Buffy reboot pilot has now leaked, and new reporting adds more context about why Hulu’s Buffy: New Sunnydale fell apart.
The page, shared by Robert Meyer Burnett on X, ends with Buffy Summers living under the alias “Anne Summers,” working in a cubicle at a multinational insurance company, before computer alerts tied to Sunnydale start popping up on her screen.
The leak comes after Hulu officially pulled the plug on the reboot, with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Kiera Armstrong responding to the cancellation.
The page closes with the line: “Off Buffy, far from the Slayer we once knew her to be…”
Final page shows Buffy far removed from who she used to be
The leaked page shows Buffy not as an active Slayer, but as someone buried in a corporate routine, going by “Anne Summers,” sitting through a boring meeting, and seemingly disconnected from the life that made the character iconic.
Only at the end do the Sunnydale alerts begin to hint that something bigger is going on again but by then the page has already painted Buffy as far removed from the Slayer fans remember.
That ending is now fueling criticism because it suggests the reboot was taking Buffy in a direction some fans are not buying. Instead of bringing Buffy back with Buffy front and center in a big way or passing the torch more effectively, à la Cobra Kai, the final page makes a point of showing her as diminished compared to the hero audiences remember, which lines up with the broader complaints already raised about the reboot’s overall direction.
Script blamed
Burnett did not hold back in reacting to the leaked page. On X, he wrote, “The last page of the Buffy reboot pilot script. Pro Tip…if you’re gonna’ reboot BUFFY, how about, you know, REBOOTING BUFFY?!? NOBODY CARES about your ill-conceived, poorly written, annoying AF, new Scooby Gang. YOU DON’T GET IT.”
He also previously blasted the writers, Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, arguing the script failed on a basic storytelling level.
“The BUFFY reboot failed because it was written by two sisters whose writing experience was derived by growing up watching TV instead of reading genre and classical fiction. Every page of their script betrayed their lack a literary background. BUFFY was created by a DUDE. Deal,” he said.
Earlier Draft Sidelined Buffy, Rewrite Still Couldn’t Save It
New reporting also adds more context to why the final page leak hit such a nerve. In the earlier version of Buffy: New Sunnydale, Buffy reportedly had only one line and appeared mainly in the closing reveal, while most of the pilot focused on Nova, the new Slayer, and her Scooby Gang.
That version of the script ended with Buffy living in New York under the name Anne Summers, working an office job and described as “far from the Slayer we once knew her to be,” which helps explain why fans reacted so negatively to the leaked final page.
However, Variety says the Zuckermans later turned in a 90-minute rewrite that aged the show up, featured a lot more Buffy Summers, and was seen internally as an improvement. Even so, Hulu still chose not to move forward, which suggests the deeper problems with the reboot were never fully fixed.
Gellar Blames Disney Executive, As Buffy Pilot Neared Pickup
Sarah Michelle Gellar has pointed to behind-the-scenes issues as a reason the Buffy reboot struggled, saying an executive involved with the project was not a fan of the original series and made that clear throughout development.
Gellar has also responded directly to the leaked script controversy, saying the version circulating online is not correct. Those comments came after Hulu officially canceled the reboot.
Deadline later reported the executive she was referring to was Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich, who oversees Hulu Originals and ultimately made the decision not to move forward with the pilot.
At the same time, Deadline says the project had not been dead in the water. After the original pilot was criticized for playing too young and feeling too small, the Zuckermans reportedly turned in a 90-minute rewrite that was more adult, featured more Buffy Summers, and was seen internally as an improvement.
According to the trade, that rewrite had created real momentum, with some involved believing a pickup was close before Hulu unexpectedly passed.
Leaked Script May Be The Clearest Reason Buffy Reboot Fell Apart
Even with the behind-the-scenes blame game, the leaked pages still stand out as the biggest red flag.
Between the earlier leaked feminist buzzword dialogue, the initial focus on a new Scooby Gang, and the reveal that the original version gave Buffy only a minimal role before later revisions tried to course-correct, the script’s problems may have been baked in from the start.
Whatever was happening internally at Disney and Hulu, the material clearly was not connecting, and that likely played a major role in why this Buffy reboot ended up dead.
