Hulu has opted not to proceed with its Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, starring and executive produced by Sarah Michelle Gellar. She broke the news to fans on Instagram Saturday morning.
The news comes a year after the streamer ordered a pilot for the project, tentatively titled Buffy: New Sunnydale, with Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, a self-professed lifelong Buffy fan, directing from a script written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face).
The decision follows weeks of speculation about the fate of the pilot. Sources described it as “not perfect,” noting the Zhao’s sensibility may not have been the perfect match for the reboot. Zhao is now riding a wave of critical acclaim for her latest movie, Hamnet.
There had been talk about reworking the pilot as recently as earlier this week. In the end, Hulu opted not to proceed with it but remains high on the Buffy IP and plans to regroup and mull a possible new incarnation of the beloved franchise.
I hear Gellar was notified Friday night of the decision, which came as a surprise to her. She had been in Austin, TX for the SXSW premiere of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, which took place Friday afternoon. Doing press for her new movie at the festival, Gellar spoke of her excitement about the Buffy reboot, speaking of Zhao’s “passion, and her reasoning for wanting to do it, and why now, and why it is necessary” that convinced her to finally agree to revisit her signature character.
In her IG video, the actress said that she was “really sad” to share the news of the project’s demise with her fans.
“I want to thank Chloé Zhao because I never thought I would find myself back in Buffy’s stylish yet affordable boots. And thanks to Chloé, I was reminded how much I love her and how much she means, not only to me, but to all of you,” Gellar said in the video, which you can watch below. “This doesn’t change any of that, and I promise if the apocalypse actually comes… you can still beep me.”
Ryan Kiera Armstrong landed the lead opposite Gellar in the Buffy pilot, playing the new slayer in the untitled Buffyverse project, with Gellar reprising her signature role as Buffy Summers. The series regular cast also included Faly Rakotohavana, Ava Jean, Sarah Bock, Daniel Di Tomasso and Jack Cutmore-Scott. The reboot came from 20th Television and Searchlight TV.