Sarah Michelle Gellar is still reeling from Hulu’s decision to ax the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reboot — and now she’s shedding light on what went wrong.
The reboot, tentatively titled “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale,” had been in development for over a year after Hulu ordered a pilot, drawing major talent such as Gellar returning as Buffy Summers and Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao, known for “Hamnet,” as director.
Gellar announced on social media over the weekend that the streamer would not move forward with the highly anticipated project.
Just before stepping on stage at the SXSW Film & TV Festival to promote her upcoming movie, “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” the actress received the news by phone.
“Hulu had decided not to move forward with the Buffy revival,” Gellar exclusively told People. “Let me tell you, nobody saw this coming.”
“No one saw this coming, including the head of Searchlight. I got the call as we were stepping onto stage for the premiere of their own movie,” she continued. “And it’s also the weekend of Chloé (Zhao) going to the Oscars as a best director nominee for ‘Hamnet.’ For them to call us on the Friday of what should have been Chloé’s victory lap for an incredible film, and my world premiere of something that I worked very hard for is. … That says something.”
Searchlight produced “Ready or Not 2″ and was slated produce the “Buffy” reboot series for Hulu. According to Gellar, a single executive ultimately axed “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.”
“We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn’t for him,” Gellar said.
“That’s very hard when you’re taking a property that is as beloved as Buffy, not just to the world, but to me and Chloé (Zhao). So that tells you the uphill battle that we had been fighting since Day 1, when your executive is literally proud to tell you that he didn’t watch it.”
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” began as a 1992 movie before being adapted into a television series five years later starring Gellar. The show ran for seven seasons, and since it ended in 2003, Gellar said fans have eagerly awaited a revival.
“I’ve been asked since the day I left to return to Sunnydale,” said Gellar. “And it never occurred to me that it was something I was going to do.”
“Chloé (Zhao) and I are feeling the same things. Disappointment. We don’t want to let the fans down. That hurts. Saddened at how it was handled and when it was handled,” she continued.
“But Buffy is timeless. And the one thing I do want all these fans to know is that legacy is still there and this doesn’t diminish it. It doesn’t change it. That legacy is still there — for them.”