Almost seven years ago,  it was announced that a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was in development with Monica Owusu-Breen, co-creator of the TV show Midnight, Texas, writing, executive producing, and serving as showrunner. It was said that the new show would be “contemporary, building on the mythology of the original.” That project never made it into production – and earlier this year, it was revealed that we’re going to be getting a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival instead, with Sarah Michelle Gellar returning to the role of Buffy Summers and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals) directing the first episode. And make sure you don’t call it a reboot! Entertainment Tonight made that mistake during an interview with Gellar, who corrected them. It’s not a reboot, it’s a 25-years-later continuation.

Here’s the Buffy talk from the Entertainment Tonight interview:

Gellar said, “There’s so little I can say about what we just shot. I will say that it’s not a reboot. It’s a continuation of a world. So it’s picking up 25 years later in a world of Buffy.” She said that returning to this world is “equal parts incredibly thrilling, but also it’s very nerve-wracking. People have been asking for this for so many years, but everyone also has an opinion on how it should be done. I’m doing it for the fans, so I hope that they love it. It was made with a lot of love and a lot of passion and a lot of thought behind it.“

Teenage actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong (Firestarter) has been cast as a new slayer, an introverted high school student named Nova. Also in the cast are Faly Rakotohavana (Unprisoned), Ava Jean (Law & Order: SVU), Sarah Bock (Severance), Daniel Di Tomasso (CSI: Vegas) and Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier) are also in the cast, taking on the series regular roles of Hugo, a privileged, likable high-school student who is a geek; Larkin, another student described as a “chronic do-gooder”; Gracie, the ringleader for a group of church-going students; Abe, Nova’s single father who is a photojournalist; and Mr. Burke, a popular high school teacher. Kingston Vernes (The Survivor) has been cast as Nova’s crush, Carson, and will be a guest star in the pilot, but Carson is envisioned as being a major recurring character if the project goes to series. He’s “a Junior Olympian and popular student at New Sunnydale Academy who is the object of Nova’s crush and starts noticing her after a life-changing event.” Chase Sui Wonders (I Know What You Did Last Summer 2025) makes a guest appearance in the pilot. Merrin Dungey (The Lincoln Lawyer), Audrey Hsieh (Found), and Audrey Grace Marshall (The Flight Attendant) are guest stars in the pilot, but they could have recurring roles if the show is ordered to series. Dungey’s character is Ms. LaDuca, the college counselor at New Sunnydale Academy. Hsieh and Marshall play Keiko and Jessica, high school students and members of the academy’s Evangelical Christian group.

Oscar-winning director Zhao, who is a self-professed lifelong Buffy fan, is directing the pilot from a script by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face). The revival is coming our way from 20th Television and Searchlight TV, where Zhao has a first-look deal. Deadline recently said that the revival would be “starting a writers room soon, a sign that Hulu and the studios have high expectations for the project going to series. It is unclear yet whether other original Buffy cast members would return; that is considered likely.”

This is being referred to as “the next chapter in the Buffyverse.” The revival is being executive produced by Gellar, Zhao, and the Zuckermans, as well as the original series’ executive producers Gail Berman of the Jackal Group and Fran Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui of Suite B. Also executive producing the pilot is Dolly Parton, whose company Sandollar was behind the original show. In case you’re wondering, “Buffy creator Joss Whedon, who also wrote the 1992 movie the series was based on, has no involvement in the reboot. He has not worked in Hollywood in any official capacity since facing a slew of misconduct allegations in 2021.”

Are you glad that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival is a continuation rather than a reboot? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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