“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is eyeing a return to TV. Just ask its heroine.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, the series’ titular supernatural slayer, confirmed reports this week that a reboot of the beloved series is in the works more than 20 years since its finale. Trade outlets including Variety and Deadline reported Monday that Hulu is developing the project with Oscar-winning “Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao set to direct and Gellar attached.
Amid the reboot buzz, Gellar chimed in Thursday with a statement of her own. “I realize you haven’t heard from me,” she said on Instagram before detailing years of conversations behind this week’s news.
Since “Buffy” ended in 2003 after seven seasons, fans have eagerly awaited news about the cult favorite’s future. The spinoff series “Angel” aired from 1999 to 2004 on the WB, but other prospective “Buffy” revivals reportedly struggled to make it past development. Additionally, several actors in recent years have accused “Buffy” creator Joss Whedon of misconduct.
Gellar said Thursday that she received a call three years ago from “Buffy” executive producer and “dear friend” Gail Berman about the prospects of a reboot. Berman wanted her to meet with “Eternals” filmmaker Zhao and learn about her vision for “Buffy.” Geller said she was a fan of Zhao’s but told Berman, “I just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again.”
Geller previously had voiced disinterest in a reboot, but the meeting seemed to change her mind. She wrote that a 20-minute coffee chat with Berman and Zhao became an hours-long “adventure.”
“We laughed, we cried, but mostly we talked about how much this show means to us,” Gellar continued.
The trio continued their conversations over the following years and added “Poker Face” producing duo Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman. Together they “landed on an idea.”
The potential “Buffy” series would not center on Gellar but instead on a younger Slayer, sources told the Hollywood Reporter. Geller said Thursday she didn’t feel confident returning to the world of “Buffy” “unless I was sure we would get it right.” Years since that initial conversation with Zhao and Berman, Gellar told her followers the process is ongoing and promised “we will only make this show if we can do it right.”
She added: “I will tell you that we are on the path there.”
The “Buffy” reboot has yet to secure an official series order at Hulu, but more people have thrown their support behind the project. Deadline reports producers Fran Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui have joined the producing team, as has Dolly Parton, whose Sandollar Productions produced the original series.
Gellar concluded by ensuring fans that there’s a lot of love going into the reboot and thanking them for their constant support.
“Thank you to all the fans who never stopped asking for this,” she wrote. “This will be for you.”