A Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot is finally moving forward and it’s happening at Hulu with original star Sarah Michelle Gellar.
What are the details?
The details also include that Eternals director Chloe Zhao will direct the pilot episode. Original series creator Joss Whedon is not attached to the project.
THR says the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot is from writers Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face, Fringe) and 20th Television, described as “the next chapter in the Buffyverse.”
The next chapter will focus on a new younger slayer, with Sarah Michelle Gellar recurring in the series. As noted, since there is only supposed to be one slayer in existence at a given time, the final season retconned things by awakening hundreds of potential new Slayers.
Deadline adds that a writers room is also getting put together, which is a good sign for the show, and while it’s unknown if the other actors will be returning, the site says that it is considered likely.
Forgot to mention that Chloé Zhao, who directed NOMADLAND and ETERNALS, would helm the pilot. Joss Whedon not involved. https://t.co/nwtdJ7iRpn
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) February 3, 2025
Update: Sarah Michelle Gellar has responded:
So….. you might have heard some news this week, but I realize you haven’t heard from me.
Three years ago, I got a call from my dear friend and mentor, Gail Berman. She told me that she wanted me to sit down with Chloé Zhao to hear her take on a potential “Buffy” revival. I was blown away that Chloé even knew who I was, but, as I’ve always done, I told Gail that I just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again. We’d always been aligned on that, but this time I heard something different in her voice. I eventually agreed to go (mainly just to meet Chloé) and our twenty minute coffee quickly turned into a four hour adventure. We laughed, we cried, but mostly we both talked about how much this show means to us.
While I didn’t agree to anything at that meeting, I did shock myself by agreeing to continue the conversation. These conversations did, in fact, continue over the next few years and eventually we added the incredible Nora and Lilla Zuckerman to our little tribe until ultimately, one day, we landed on an idea.
I have always listened to the fans and heard your desire to revisit “Buffy” and her world, but it was not something I could do unless I was sure we would get it right. This has been a long process, and it’s not over yet. I promise you, we will only make this show if we know we can do it right. And I will tell you that we are on the path there.
I feel so lucky to be on this journey with these four unbelievably talented women, all of whom love “Buffy” as much as I do. And as much as you do. Thank you to all the fans who never stopped asking for this. This will be for you.
Sarah Michelle Gellar onboard
In December, Sarah Michelle Gellar said she was opened to continuing the series.
“I always used to say no, because it’s in its bubble, and it’s so perfect,” she said during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. “But watching Sex and the City [sequel And Just Like That] and seeing Dexter, and realizing there are ways to do it, definitely does get your mind thinking, ‘Well, maybe.’”
Back in 2018, a reboot was attempted from Whedon but it never got off the ground.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted as a feature film starring Kristy Swanson in 1992. The concept was then adapted by Whedon as a TV series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar which ran for 7 seasons with 144 episodes from 1997 to 2001.
The Buffyverse includes the Angel spinoff, comic books, and novels.
