Buffy Reboot Casts Star Wars Actress as the New Vampire Slayer

Hulu’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival has reportedly found its new Slayer in actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong. Armstrong will play “an introverted high school student” and the series’ co-lead, according to a report by Deadline. She will share the top spot with Sarah Michelle Gellar, reprising her role as Buffy Summers and picking the continuity up after years off screen. Gellar has been hyping this revival up for the last few months, noting that she has refused efforts to revive this series in the past, but she believes in this project. She also sang Armstrong’s praises in a statement to reporters on Thursday.

“From the moment I saw Ryan’s audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side,” Gellar said. “To have that kind of emotional intelligence, and talent, at such a young age is truly a gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room.”

So far, we know little about the Buffy revival’s plot, and that seems to be intentional. We know that Gellar is working with Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao, who will direct the pilot. The script comes from Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, and if the series is picked up, it will air on Hulu. Gellar has said that it’s important to her to honor the existing lore from the Buffverse and do right by fans, so the show is not expected to make any drastic changes to the formula as we know it.

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Continuing with that trend of direct communication with fans, Gellar shared a video on Instagram where she breaks the good news to Armstrong herself. The 15-year-old actress was grinning from ear to ear in a video chat with Gellar, who asked: “How do you feel about helping me save the world? You want to be my chosen one? Will you stand by my side and save the world?”

Armstrong made her screen acting debut in 2017 in the period drama Anne with an E, which aired on Netflix in the U.S. She later appearaed in the movie The Art of Racing in the Rain, then in the 2022 film adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter. However, fans likely recognize Armstrong best for playing Fern in the Star Wars series Skeleton Crew, which premiered just last year.

The updates on this Buffy revival series are getting more and more exciting, but nothing is written in stone yet. The show still needs an official order before it can go into production, which means it will be a while before it reaches out screens at home. In the meantime, the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer series is streaming now on Hulu and Tubi.