Sarah Michelle Gellar has responded to reports about a reboot of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, confirming the hit nineties TV drama is set to return.
The actress, who played Buffy Summers, has shared details about why she decided to return to her days as a slayer, almost 22 years after the show ended.
The series, created by writer and director Joss Whedon, featured Gellar, 47, as one in a long line of young women chosen by fate to battle evil forces in the fictional US town of Sunnydale.
Now the star has posted a message on Instagram confirming her involvement in a revival of the drama, although did not reveal if it will be a reboot or sequel.
Buffy means business. Pic: TM/20th Century Fox Film Corp
She described a conversation three years ago with director Chloe Zhao “to hear her take on a potential ‘Buffy’ revival”.
“Our twenty minute coffee quickly turned into a four hour adventure. We laughed, we cried, but mostly we both talked about how much this show means to us,” she wrote, adding that at the time she didn’t agree to continue Buffy’s story.
She added that she did “shock” herself by agreeing to continue the conversation “until ultimately, one day, we landed on an idea”.
On Monday, Variety reported that Gellar was in “final talks” to play the iconic character, although she would not lead the new series, which would focus on a new slayer.
The US entertainment news outlet also said it had been told by sources that the sequel “is nearing a pilot order at [US streaming network] Hulu”.
Cast pictured in 1999. From left: Alyson Hannigan, Seth Green (crouching), Anthony Stewart Head, Charisma Carpenter, Nicholas Brendon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz, James Marsters (crouching), Juliet Landau. Pic: TM/20th Century Fox Film Corp
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for for seven seasons from 1997, its finale episode airing in May 2003.
It also featured British actor Anthony Stewart Head who starred as Giles, Buffy’s Watcher, along with her schoolfriends Willow and Xander from Sunnydale High, played by Alyson Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon respectively.
The show was so successful that the character Angel – a cursed vampire who is Buffy’s love interest – got his own spin-off series. The actor who played him, David Boreanaz, also went on to star in the long-running police series, Bones.
Sarah Michelle Gellar and her on-screen love interest David Boreanaz in 2003. Pic: 20th Century Fox Film Corp
Gellar wrote that she has always listened to the fans and heard their desires to revisit Buffy and her world.
“But it was not something I could do unless I was sure we would get it right. This has been a long process, and it’s not over yet,” she added.
“I promise you, we will only make this show if we know we can do it right. And I will tell you that we are on the path there.”
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Nora Zuckerman and her sister Lilla Zuckerman are confirmed as part of the team – reportedly writing the pilot. They have both previously collaborated on shows such as Fringe, Suits and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Chloe Zhao – best known for her Oscar-winning film Nomadland – is attached to direct.
Dolly Parton will be among the executive producers via her production company Sandollar, which was responsible for the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel television series.
