Sarah Michelle Gellar to star in Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival

Sarah Michelle Gellar is on board to star in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival, with Chloé Zhao set to direct the pilot

Six and a half years have gone by since it was announced that a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was in development with Monica Owusu-Breen, co-creator of the TV show Midnight, Texas, writing, executive producing, and serving as showrunner. It was said that the new show would be “contemporary, building on the mythology of the original.” That project never made it into production – and now, it looks like we’re going to be getting a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival instead, with Sarah Michelle Gellar back as the title character!

In early 2023, Gellar said she had no interest in ever playing Buffy again. She told SFX magazine, “I am very proud of the show that we created and it doesn’t need to be done. We wrapped that up. I am all for them continuing the story, because there’s the story of female empowerment. I love the way the show was left: ‘Every girl who has the power can have the power.’ It’s set up perfectly for someone else to have the power. But like I said, the metaphors of Buddy were the horrors of adolescence. I think I look young, but I am not an adolescent.” But, by the end of 2024 she had changed her mind. Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show (via Deadline), she had this to say about resurrecting Buffy: “It’s funny, I always used to say no, because it’s in its bubble and it’s so perfect. But watching Sex and the City and seeing Dexter, and realizing there are ways to do it, definitely does get your mind thinking, ‘Well, maybe.’“

Now, Deadline reports that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival is nearing a pilot order from the Hulu streaming service, with Gellar on board to star and Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals), who is a self-professed lifelong Buffy fan, set to direct. Zhao will be working from a script by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face). The revival is coming our way from 20th Television and Searchlight TV, where Zhao has a first-look deal. Deadline adds that the revival is “starting a writers room soon, a sign that Hulu and the studios have high expectations for the project going to series. It is unclear yet whether other original Buffy cast members would return; that is considered likely.”

This is being referred to as “the next chapter in the Buffyverse.” The revival is being executive produced by Gellar, Zhao, and the Zuckermans, as well as the original series’ executive producers Gail Berman of the Jackal Group and Fran Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui of Suite B. Also executive producing the pilot is Dolly Parton, whose company Sandollar was behind the original show. In case you’re wondering, “Buffy creator Joss Whedon, who also wrote the 1992 movie the series was based on, has no involvement in the reboot. He has not worked in Hollywood in any official capacity since facing a slew of misconduct allegations in 2021.”

Are you glad to hear that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chloé Zhao are teaming up to bring a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival to Hulu? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.