The original Buffy has herself spoken up about the reboot – and this time Sarah Michelle Gellar confirmed that the project was indeed in development, and she would never have signed on unless she was sure “we can do it right”.
Reports earlier this week stated that a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot was reportedly in the works at Hulu, with Gellar set to reprise her role as the vampire slayer.
The original series, based on the 1992 film of the same name written by series creator Joss Whedon, followed Gellar’s Buffy Summers as she battles supernatural creatures such as vampires.
She’s guided in her quests by her watcher Rupert Giles, played by Anthony Stewart Head, and has a loyal group of friends to help her – powerful witch Willow Rosenberg played by Alyson Hannigan and Xander Harris played by Nicholas Brendon.
The cult classic series ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003.
In an Instagram post on Friday, Gellar shared details about the reboot and how the project began as an idea three years ago.
“So….. you might have heard some news this week, but I realise you haven’t heard from me,” the Cruel Intentions star began.
“Three years ago, I got a call from my dear friend and mentor, Gail Berman. She told me that she wanted me to sit down with Chloé Zhao to hear her take on a potential Buffy revival. I was blown away that Chloé even knew who I was, but, as I’ve always done, I told Gail that I just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again,” she said.
Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao, who has been a longtime self-professed Buffy fan, is set to direct the reboot, and Gail Berman served as executive producer on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spinoff Angel.
“We’d always been aligned on that, but this time I heard something different in her voice. I eventually agreed to go (mainly just to meet Chloé) and our twenty minute coffee quickly turned into a four hour adventure. We laughed, we cried, but mostly we both talked about how much this show means to us,” Gellar continued.
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Gellar added that she agreed to nothing concrete in the meeting, but it opened her up to the idea of the reboot, until the team, which added Poker Face writers Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, “landed on an idea”.
“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 has been a long process, and it’s not over yet. I promise you, we will only make this show if we know we can do it right. And I will tell you that we are on the path there,” she wrote.
“I feel so lucky to be on this journey with these four unbelievably talented women, all of whom love “Buffy” as much as I do. And as much as you do. Thank you to all the fans who never stopped asking for this. This will be for you.”
Gellar, who will reportedly be an executive producer on the reboot, said earlier that she had originally been against the idea. She said she was “very proud of the show that we created, and [a revival] doesn’t need to be done. We wrapped that up”.
However, in December last year, she shared that she had changed her mind after seeing popular and successful reboots of shows like Sex and the City and Dexter.
