Buffy Reboot Leaks “Fake,” Says Sarah Michelle Gellar (Is That a Good Thing?)

Sarah Michelle Gellar is debunking a leak concerning Hulu’s reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There have been constant talks of rebooting Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but none of the ideas have gotten off the ground. The fan-favorite supernatural series ended its run in 2003, but did manage to spawn a spinoff with David Boreanaz’s Angel, as well as several comic books and novels that continued the story of the Buffyverse. However, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is indeed coming back, with Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals) working together with Gellar to reboot Buffy for a new generation. A recent leak detailed some of the characters that would appear in the Buffy revival, but Gellar says none of that information is accurate.

Elite Daily spoke to Sarah Michelle Gellar about the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot. When asked about the three characters rumored to appear, including a 16-year-old Slayer named Nova, who would have been the lead, Gellar says the leaks are “fake.”

“Those are all fake characters,” Gellar said. “That thing that got released is all fake.”

What was reported is that the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer would have involved three characters, who would have served as the new Scooby Gang of the show: Nova, Hugo, an out-and-proud nerd from a wealthy background, and Gracie, a young vampire expert who idolizes Gellar’s Buffy. Gellar would only appear as a recurring guest star. Nova was described as “very smart and a bit of a loner” who “skews more Willow than Buffy,” suggesting a significant departure from Sarah Michelle Gellar’s original vampire-hunting cheerleader.

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Gellar also spoke about why she went with Zhao’s version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer over other pitches she had heard in the past. “Every pitch I heard was just like, ‘Let’s just do Buffy again.’ Why?” she said. “But the passion that [Zhao] came to me with, what she wanted to do with the show and the character, and why Buffy is needed now — it was the first time where I thought, ‘OK, there’s a reason.’”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of the earliest genre shows to be LGBTQ+ inclusive, truly making it a show for the outcasts. Gellar says this has helped Buffy remain the pillar that it is to this day, and why viewers continue to go back to it and pine for a reboot.

“The whole point of an antihero is to be a hero for the people who don’t fit in the box, the people who aren’t like everybody else,” Gellar said. “That’s who I want to tell stories for: the person that really looks to these stories to feel a connection.”

Chloé Zhao is directing the pilot and is an executive producer on the reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face) are writing the script and serve as showrunners. Sarah Michelle Gellar will guest star and also serve as an executive producer behind the scenes alongside original series producers Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui, Kaz Kuzui, and Dolly Parton through Sandollar Entertainment.

“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 will be for you,” Gellar said when addressing Buffy fans on social media.

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