Sarah Michelle Gellar breaks silence on Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival as she makes pledge amid fan backlash
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Sarah Michelle Gellar detailed what changed her mind about starring in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival, two decades after her beloved supernatural drama wrapped.
On Thursday, the actress, 47, broke her silence about reprising her role as Buffy Summers following years of insisting that she was against rebooting the series.
Despite stating she was firmly against participating in any spinoffs, the Emmy winner revealed that meeting with Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao changed her mind.
'So….. you might have heard some news this week, but I realize you haven’t heard from me,' she wrote on Instagram.
She continued: 'Three years ago, I got a call from my dear friend and mentor, Gail Berman. She told me that she wanted me to sit down with Chloé Zhao to hear her take on a potential Buffy revival.'
Although she feeling 'blown away that Chloé even knew who' she is, Gellar said she still was hesitant and 'just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again.'
Sarah Michelle Gellar detailed what changed her mind about starring in a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival, two decades after her beloved supernatural drama wrapped
Ultimately, she said she agreed to meet with Zhao because she 'heard something different' in Berman's voice.
'I eventually agreed to go (mainly just to meet Chloé) and 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 told her followers.
Gellar went on to note that she 'didn’t agree to anything at that meeting' but 'did shock' herself 'by agreeing to continue the conversation.'
'Eventually we added the incredible Nora and Lilla Zuckerman to our little tribe until ultimately, one day, we landed on an idea,' she said.
The star, then, addressed her fans directly as she wrote: 'I have always listened to the fans and heard your desire to revisit Buffy and her world, but it was not something I could do unless I was sure we would get it right.'
Last week news broke that Hulu was close to finalizing a pilot order for a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and that the actress was in final negotiations to executive produce the show.
Almost immediately, fans of the original series took to social media to express their outrage and fears that the revival would ruin the franchise.
The announcement comes after teasing the idea of a reboot on the The Drew Barrymore Show in December.
'I always used to say no [to the idea of a reboot], because it's in its bubble and it's so perfect,' Sarah confessed. 'But watching Sex and the City and seeing Dexter, and realizing there are ways to do it.'
On Thursday, the actress, 47, broke her silence about reprising her role as Buffy Summers following years of insisting that she was against rebooting the series
Despite stating she was firmly against participating in any spinoffs, the Emmy winner revealed that meeting with Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao changed her mind
'So….. you might have heard some news this week, but I realize you haven’t heard from me,' she wrote on Instagram; seen in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Poker Face sister showrunners Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman produced and penned the pilot for 'the next chapter in the Buffyverse,' and they're reportedly already creating a writers room.
Zhao - who's said to be a lifelong Buffy fan - will produce and helm the pilot as part of her first-look deal with 20th Television and Searchlight TV.
Gellar headed up the beloved supernatural drama, which aired for seven seasons spanning 1997-2003 on The WB/UPN and it spawned David Boreanaz's spin-off Angel, which aired for five seasons spanning 1999-2004 on The WB.
But it all began with Joss Whedon, who created Buffy after penning the original 1992 film directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui, which starred Kirsty Swanson as the slayer.
The disgraced 60-year-old's career in show business ended in 2021 after mounting allegations of 'cruel' and 'toxic' behavior on set from actors Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, and Charisma Carpenter.
Fans of the original series took to social media to express their outrage and fears that the revival would ruin the franchise
'Will this be better than ever or most likely FLOP,' one X user wrote
Another admitted that they didn't 'love the idea' but would 'absolutely' be watching
'Nope still don't think that Buffy needs a reboot because it's going to be ruined one way or another,' a third feared
Another said that 'the idea of seeing buffy sad and jaded and not living it up in the reboot puts me off the idea so bad'
'Fake buddy fans are excited for a reboot real buffy fans are screaming in agony,' another stressed
'While I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don't want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon,' Sarah - who boasts 6.7M social media followers - declared on Instagram in 2021.
'But I stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out.'
Fans of Joss (born Joseph) knew something was amiss about the so-called feminist when his ex-wife of 16 years Kai Cole blasted his 'hypocritical repeated cheating' in TheWrap in 2017.
In 2016, the flame-haired architect divorced Whedon, with whom she welcomed 22-year-old son Arden and 19-year-old daughter Squire.
Gellar currently portrays Miami Metro Police Department forensics expert Tanya Martin in the 10-episode prequel Dexter: Original Sin, which airs Fridays on Paramount+ with Showtime.
