Sarah Gellar had no clue 'Buffy' reboot was getting canceled
What's the story
Sarah Michelle Gellar, the star of the iconic television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has revealed that she was taken by surprise when Hulu decided not to move forward with a planned reboot of the show. The news came just as Gellar was about to take the stage at SXSW Film & TV Festival for her new movie Ready or Not 2: Here I Come last week.
Revival plans
Gellar and Chloe Zhao were developing the reboot
Gellar, 48, revealed to People that she and Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao had been working on a revival of Buffy for Hulu and Searchlight Television. "I've been asked since the day I left to return to Sunnydale," Gellar said. "Then four years ago, Chloe...comes into my life. In one meeting, she makes me say 'yes' to something I never saw on my radar."
Praise
'I loved the duality of the slayers'
Gellar and Zhao had even filmed a pilot episode for the reboot, which would have seen Gellar's character return alongside a new slayer played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong. "The dialogue flew off the tongue...I loved the duality that we had this new, younger slayer who was where Buffy was when the show started," said Gellar. She also called Armstrong a "superstar" and expressed disappointment that audiences won't get to see her as a slayer.
Disappointment
The timing of the news was baffling
Gellar was baffled not just by the decision to scrap the series, but also by the timing of the call. She received the phone call right before going on the SXSW stage. "No one saw this coming, including the head of Searchlight [Pictures]," she said. She found it ironic that she received the news just as she was about to premiere her own movie and during Zhao's Oscars weekend as a best director nominee for Hamnet.
Blame
One executive had never seen 'Buffy'
Gellar revealed that one executive was not a fan of the original Buffy series and had never seen the entirety of the series. "That's very hard when you're taking a property that is as beloved as Buffy, not just to the world, but to me and Chloe," she said. "So that tells you the uphill battle that we had been fighting since day one."
Legacy
But Buffy's legacy remains intact, says Gellar
Despite the disappointment, Gellar reassured fans that Buffy's legacy remains intact. "But Buffy is timeless," she said. "And the one thing I do want all these fans to know is that legacy is still there and this doesn't diminish it." She also revealed that she has heard from her original Buffy co-stars, including David Boreanaz, who showed their support during this difficult time.