‘Buffy’ Sequel Series Pilot Ordered at Hulu

Gellar will have a recurring role as the title character if the show goes to series, but the focus would be on a new slayer battling supernatural nasties.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. Photo: 20th Century Fox Television.

Preview:

Sarah Michelle Gellar is attached to a ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ sequel pilot.
Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman are aboard to write, showrun, and executive produce.
Chloé Zhao will direct the pilot and produce.

As the opening narration of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ used to intone, “In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.”

If Hulu’s plans work out, we might just get to meet this generation’s Slayer –– with a little help from the previous one.

Yes, in a world where every old show and movie is now potential fodder for a sequel, reboot or remake, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ is one that has been talked about a few times before.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"Get home before dark."

TV-147 SeasonsMarch 10th, 1997

Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the... Read the Plot

Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, it might actually come to fruition, as word arrives that streaming service Hulu is exploring the concept of a ‘Buffy’ streaming series.

With Disney’s 20th Television backing the idea, ‘Poker Face’ showrunners Nora and Lilla Zuckerman are developing what is being described as “the next chapter in the Buffyverse.”

Chloé Zhao poses backstage with the Oscars® for Directing and Best Picture the during the live ABC Telecast of The 93rd Oscars® at Union Station in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, April 25, 2021. Credit/Provider: Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.

Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, whose movies include ‘Nomadland’ and Marvel’s ‘Eternals’ is set to direct the pilot and serve as a producer.

But perhaps more exciting for ‘Buffy’ fans is news that the original Buffy Summers herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, is attached to recur on the show, albeit more as a mentor figure to the new focus, a fresh-faced Slayer who will be tasked with tackling vampires and other supernatural creatures.

What was the story of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’?

The cast of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. Photo: 20th Century Fox Television.

‘Buffy’ is a concept that has already shown an ability to evolve.
It originated as a film starring Kristy Swanson in the title role. Joss Whedon wrote the film with Fran Kuzui directing and was released in 1992.

Five years later, the series version, created by Whedon and now starring Gellar, debuted on The WB.

It aired on The WB for its first five seasons before airing its final two seasons on UPN.

The cast also included Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, Seth Green, and James Marsters among others. Boreanaz would then head up the spinoff series ‘Angel’ at The WB for five seasons.

The original series’ executive producers included Gail Berman of the Jackal Group and Fran Kuzui & Kaz Kuzui via Suite B, who will all get a credit on the new pilot.

The cast of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. Photo: 20th Century Fox Television.

And fun fact: also executive producing the pilot is Dolly Parton, whose company Sandollar was producer on the original.

Whedon, who oversaw the show’s seven-season run, will not return to work on any new version. In 2021, the writer/producer, who also crafted the first two ‘Avengers’ movies and TV series ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ for Marvel, was accused of creating a toxic work environment on both ‘Buffy’ and ‘Angel’ by nearly a dozen people associated with the show, particularly Carpenter.

Fellow cast members such as Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg backed up her allegations.

Berman, and the Kuzuis previously teamed up with 20th TV in 2018 for a potential ‘Buffy’ reboot written by ‘Midnight, Texas’ creator Monica Owusu-Breen, on which Whedon was an executive producer. That project, whose lead was envisioned as a Black woman, didn’t move forward.

The biggest dangling question any sequel series would need to answer is the clever notion introduced by the series’ final season, in that Buffy’s death (she got better) in a previous season triggered a raft of new potential Slayers. Is there just going to be one in the new series? We’ll have to wait and see.

What has Sarah Michelle Gellar previously said about returning for a new ‘Buffy’ series?

Sarah Michelle Gellar in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. Photo: 20th Century Fox Television.

Gellar has been in two minds about the idea of reprising Buffy Summers.

In 2023, she poured cold water on taking on a new ‘Buffy’ series, telling UK magazine SFX:

“I am very proud of the show that we created and it doesn’t need to be done. We wrapped that up. I am all for them continuing the story because there’s the story of female empowerment. I love the way the show was left: ‘Every girl who has the power can have the power.’ It’s set up perfectly for someone else to have the power. But like I said, the metaphors of ‘Buffy’ were the horrors of adolescence. I think I look young, but I am not an adolescent.”

Yet last year, she appeared on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ where she was open to it:

“I always used to say no because it’s in its bubble and it’s so perfect. But watching ‘And Just Like That…’ (the ‘Sex and the City’ sequel series) and seeing ‘Dexter: Original Sin,’ and realizing there are ways to do it, definitely does get your mind thinking, ‘Well, maybe.’”

It seems the new concept has shifted her from “maybe” to all in…

When will the new ‘Buffy’ series be on screens?

Hulu has yet to make any official announcement –– and indeed, hasn’t confirmed any of the details, so we’ll have to wait and see whether this even makes it into production, let alone learn a launch date for the eventual show on the streaming service.