Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an iconic TV show, and more than 30 years after the series premiered, it remains a cult classic today. It was therefore a major disappointment when the Buffy reboot, titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, was axed. Of course, rebooting the show would have come with its own complications, as a show with so much nostalgia baked in would no doubt mean defensive fans ready to claim this new iteration wasn’t as good as the real thing.
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For similar reasons, it’s difficult to imagine anyone else playing the main characters in the show. The original cast was brilliant and remains very beloved, and they arguably can’t really be replaced. However, if the original show absolutely had to be recast today, these actors would still do a solid job in these 10 main roles.
McKenna Grace as Buffy Summers
Yes, McKenna Grace is everywhere right now, and while some may argue that means she doesn’t need yet another leading role, the truth is, she’s landing so many major roles for a reason. McKenna Grace is incredibly talented, and she has been playing countless roles since she was a young child. This year alone, she will be starring in the brand new Hunger Games movie, Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. She will also be Daphne in the new Scooby-Doo remake.
With such an extensive background and this breadth of experience, McKenna Grace would be brilliant in the leading role of Buffy. She could handle the action sequences as well as the emotionally weighty story arcs (after all, we all remember what eventually happens to Buffy’s mother, Joyce), but she also has the charming personality to pull off the character overall, just as Sarah Michelle Gellar, of course, did.
Xochitl Gomez as Willow Rosenberg
Willow is a fascinating character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because while she’s a very sweet, supportive friend, there’s also so much more to her, as original actress Alyson Hannigan made clear. It’s also worth mentioning that Willow is a queer character—and was a rare form of representation for lesbians in the 90s—and that would be important to maintain as well.
All of these details make Xochitl Gomez an excellent choice for Willow. For one, she absolutely has that sweet disposition that Willow has in the original show, but she has also already proven her ability to depict emotional depth. What’s more, in the MCU, Xochitl Gomez portrays America Chavez, another canonically queer character, so she is clearly up to the task.
Jenna Ortega as Cordelia Chase
While this might be a controversial claim, Jenna Ortega would be great in the role of Cordelia Chase, originally played by Charisma Carpenter. Currently, Ortega is likely best known for her role as Wednesday Addams in Wednesday, and she has been known to play similarly dark roles, such as with Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. Yet, her talents and experiences reflect her ability to go beyond that genre, and it would be delightful to see her play a character as complex as Cordelia.
Ortega would be especially good at taking Cordelia from the mean girl/”it” girl to a beloved hero, and she would undoubtedly bring her own unique approach to the role. (It would also simply be fun to see Ortega play a character of this kind.)
David Tennant as Rupert Giles
Beloved mentor Rupert Giles would be another difficult recast, but David Tennant is up to the task. Like the original character, Tennant could bring both a charm and a calming nature to the role, but he would also work as a character who was there to impart wisdom and act as a guide.
In fact, Tennant, both in terms of his background and experience and in terms of his demeanor and acting style, feels like a natural fit to take up the mantle of Rupert Giles following Anthony Head’s cherished performance in the original show.
Asher Angel as Xander Harris
Xander Harris, originally played by Nicholas Brendon, is yet another beloved Buffy the Vampire Slayer character, which means that he, too, would need to be recast very carefully. Xander is an often goofy character with a heart of gold, and anyone jumping into the role would need to have those same qualities.
It is for this reason that Asher Angel would be great in the recast role. Angel may be best known for Shazam!, in which he played Billy Batson, but his most recent role is actually much better proof that he’s great for the role. Specifically, Angel recently starred in Kissing Is the Easy Part as a sweet, charming, somewhat nerdy character. He could bring that same charm to Xander, filling Brendon’s shoes well.
Rachel McAdams as Joyce Summers
Joyce Summers is likewise a difficult character to recast because she is at once a warm, comforting presence but also a fierce protector as a mom. That balance, which Kristine Sutherland pulled off so beautifully in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer show, would therefore require some true acting talent.
Rachel McAdams would make a perfect fit for this recast character. Although she once played Mean Girls’ Regina George, McAdams actually has an incredibly warm disposition, and she would step into this motherly role well. She has also more than proven that she can be fierce, considering her most recent movie, Send Help, is a horror movie.
Jacob Elordi as Angel
Jacob Elordi is yet another actor who seems to be everywhere right now, but there’s no denying that he is a dead ringer for the brooding, dark nature of Angel in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, particularly the earlier seasons. Elordi, who has had his own fair share of dark roles, would no doubt fit quite well into the role.
Moreover, while some may claim that Elordi is too old for the part, he’s actually the same age that the original Angel actor, David Boreanaz, was when he took on the role. Boreanaz was about 28 years old when he began portraying the vampire. Currently, Elordi is also 28 years old.
Joseph Quinn as Spike
Angel isn’t the only brooding vampire who eventually captured hearts on the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer show. Spike, first portrayed by James Marsters, ended up being a fan-favorite character, and he unsurprisingly, like Angel, had a darker nature. However, he also was revealed to have a soft side to him at various points.
Joseph Quinn would therefore be an excellent actor to step into the role. In his previous performances, including as Eddie Munson in Stranger Things and Human Torch in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Quinn has proven his ability to play a character with an edge but also have quite a bit of warmth. Hopefully, though, this Spike wouldn’t have the same disappointing, upsetting storyline regarding assaulting Buffy.
Rachel Zegler as Tara Maclay
First played by Amber Benson, Tara, like Willow, is a complex character who has both a softer nature but also an incredible strength to her, which makes her difficult to recast. She is also an example of positive queer representation, too, given that she and Willow are in a relationship in the original show. Yet, Rachel Zegler, who has now had a number of major roles, would be up to the task.
Rachel Zegler frankly gets entirely too much hate, most of it having to do with controversies surrounding Disney’s live-action Snow White. However, her performance in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, not to mention her astounding talent on the stage, proves she would be great in the role.
Nell Fisher as Dawn Summers
Finally, the choice for Dawn Summers practically casts itself. Buffy’s surprise little sister Dawn was first played by the late (and great) Michelle Trachtenberg, and she brought a youthful energy to the role. While her character was certainly complicated, she also fit the sweet younger sister character type perfectly.
Nell Fisher, who played Holly Wheeler in the final season of Stranger Things, has already proven her ability to portray such a little sister, and her acting chops in that season (even if the season overall was a bit rocky) were nothing short of staggering. She would therefore be an excellent fit as Dawn if Buffy the Vampire Slayer was being recast today.
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