Buffy Reboot Confirmed With Sarah Michelle Gellar (and Surprising Marvel Director)

A revival of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is close to getting the green light, according to a report by Deadline. On Monday, the outlet learned from sources familiar with the deal that Hulu is almost prepared to order a pilot for this reboot series, with Sarah Michelle Gellar returning to star as Buffy Summers. The pilot will be written by Poker Face‘s Nora and Lilla Zuckerman and directed by Eternals‘ Chloé Zhao, and there is a lot of chatter about a series order. A writers’ room is reportedly in the works, and insiders said it is likely that other stars of the original series will return. All in all, it’s a very hopeful report for a series that has to go through the pilot process before it can get a true order.

This revival will reportedly tell “the next chapter in the Buffyverse,” picking up where the original series left off. However, creator Joss Whedon has no involvement in the project. Executive producers include Gellar, Zhao, the Zuckerman sisters, and original series EPs Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui, Kaz Kuzui, and Dolly Parton.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has had a long circuitous road to this point — Whedon originally wrote it as a feature film, but he was dissatisfied with the movie version made in 1992. He re-worked the idea into a drama that aired on from 1997 to 2003, amassing a die-hard fandom in the process. Before the original series even ended, it was expanded in the spinoff series Angel, which aired until 2004. There are also numerous novels and comic books in the Buffyverse, and fans are excited to see it return to the screen.

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In spite of all this excitement, Gellar herself has generally been against a reboot or revival of Buffy. She finally responded positively to the idea for the first time in December, crediting her change of heart to the Dexter prequel Original Sin. Gellar is a special guest star in the new series, and during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, she said it helped change her perspective on reboots.

“It’s funny, I always used to say no, because [Buffy is] 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,’” Gellar said. Asked if she thought Buffy should get a prequel, she continued, “No, it could be anything. It’s a universe. And it makes you realize that in this world, we need those heroes, I think, more so than ever.”

There’s no telling when we might learn more about this pilot order or how far it might go, but Buffy fans definitely have hope. For now, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is streaming now on Hulu and Tubi. Angel is streaming on Hulu as well.