About seven years ago, it was announced that a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was in development with Monica Owusu-Breen, co-creator of the TV show Midnight, Texas, writing, executive producing, and serving as showrunner. It was said that the new show would be “contemporary, building on the mythology of the original.” That project never made it into production – and last year, it was revealed that we were going to be getting a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival instead, with Sarah Michelle Gellar returning to the role of Buffy Summers and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals) directing the first episode. The new show was to be called Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale and the pilot episode was filmed months ago.
The project was set up at the Hulu streaming service… and a couple of days ago, fans were shocked to see the news that Hulu had decided to pass on it. Moving ahead with a Buffy revival seemed like a no-brainer. But while speaking to Variety‘s Ramin Setoodeh and CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister on the Oscars red carpet last night, Zhao said she was “not surprised” by Hulu’s decision.
Cast and Creative Team
Teenage actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong (Firestarter) was cast as a new slayer, an introverted high school student named Nova. Also in the pilot cast are Faly Rakotohavana (Unprisoned), Ava Jean (Law & Order: SVU), Sarah Bock (Severance), Daniel Di Tomasso (CSI: Vegas) and Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier), taking on the series regular roles of Hugo, a privileged, likable high-school student who is a geek; Larkin, another student described as a “chronic do-gooder”; Gracie, the ringleader for a group of church-going students; Abe, Nova’s single father who is a photojournalist; and Mr. Burke, a popular high school teacher.
Kingston Vernes (The Survivor) was cast as Nova’s crush, Carson, who was envisioned as being a major recurring character if the project went to series. He’s “a Junior Olympian and popular student at New Sunnydale Academy who is the object of Nova’s crush and starts noticing her after a life-changing event.” Chase Sui Wonders (I Know What You Did Last Summer 2025) made a guest appearance in the pilot. Merrin Dungey (The Lincoln Lawyer), Audrey Hsieh (Found), and Audrey Grace Marshall (The Flight Attendant) are also guest stars in the pilot, but could have had recurring roles if the show was ordered to series. Dungey’s character is Ms. LaDuca, the college counselor at New Sunnydale Academy. Hsieh and Marshall played Keiko and Jessica, high school students and members of the academy’s Evangelical Christian group.
Oscar-winning director Zhao, who is a self-professed lifelong Buffy fan, directed the pilot from a script by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face). The revival was coming our way from 20th Television and Searchlight TV, where Zhao has a first-look deal. Deadline recently said that the revival would be “starting a writers room soon, a sign that Hulu and the studios have high expectations for the project going to series. It is unclear yet whether other original Buffy cast members would return; that is considered likely.” But, apparently the pilot didn’t live up to Hulu’s high expectations.
This was being referred to as “the next chapter in the Buffyverse.” The pilot was executive produced by Gellar, Zhao, and the Zuckermans, as well as the original series’ executive producers Gail Berman of the Jackal Group and Fran Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui of Suite B. Also an executive producer the pilot was Dolly Parton, whose company Sandollar was behind the original show. In case you’re wondering, “Buffy creator Joss Whedon, who also wrote the 1992 movie the series was based on, had no involvement in the reboot. He has not worked in Hollywood in any official capacity since facing a slew of misconduct allegations in 2021.”
Not Surprised
After telling Variety and CNN that she was “not surprised” by Hulu’s decision, Zhao said, “I had an incredible, incredible time with Sarah [Michelle Gellar], with all the cast and crew doing this. And we, first and foremost, see ourselves as the guardians of the original show. Our priority for Sarah and for us has always been to be truthful to the show, to be truthful to our fans. So, things happen for a reason, and we keep our hearts open and we welcome the mystery. And what this might lead us to.“
Asked if she and Gellar would be shopping the project to other distributors, Zhao repeated, “Welcome the mystery.“
Are you hoping that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chloé Zhao will find a new home for Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
The post Chloé Zhao “not surprised” Hulu passed on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale appeared first on JoBlo.



