‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ reboot is officially happening!

Chloe Zhao is directing!

Like every reboot, it will be canceled after two lame seasons.

The earth is doomed.

I hated that rotten-faced smug bitch then and I hate her today.

Featuring a special appearance by Susan Lucci at R4 .

The problem with a reboot is that the ending pretty much created thousands of slayers.

So, they either gloss over the final season or have to deal with the mess it creates for continuity.

Also, the fun characters are all unavailable like, ahem, Nichals Brendan and Emma Caulfield. James Marsters is, unfortuantely, looking too old to play Spike. Obviously, no chance of getting a much too old David Boreanaz either.

That leaves Michelle Tractenberg and DL fav Allison Hannigan.

The slew of "Once More with Feeling" headlines will be annoying, but Gellar's inching closer to slaying whatever's left of Joss Whedon's reputation. She's kept out of it so far, other than voicing her support for his accusers and saying she had negative experiences of her own, but her daughter's now the same age as some of the actors he mistreated and it will weigh on her.

They better not go that bullshit route where they give Buffy a teenaged daughter who is a piss poor copy of her and she has friends who are all piss poor copies of Buffy's friends and they're all played by nepo babies and TikTokers.

Then they focus on the new Gen Z cast while the original characters are given the back burner or mostly killed off followed by that bullshit ageist "passing the torch" garbage trope I've seen a TON of sequels, reboots and revivals do in recent years because of the extreme shallow obsession with youth, nepo babies and trends.

It's a supernatural show so I assume they can easily revive any of the "dead" characters. They can also easily address the ending of the original by saying Willow's spell wore off and now Buffy is back to being the only slayer.

[Quote] The problem with a reboot is that the ending pretty much created thousands of slayers.

It’s a reboot, not a sequel or successor.

Not that I care. The first show was steaming diarrhea and the reboot probably will be too.

R8 Sounds like a plan!

From that creative genius Joss Whedon! So you know it’s got to be brilliant.

[quote]From that creative genius Joss Whedon! So you know it’s got to be brilliant.

He has nothing to do with the reboot. From the Deadline article:

[quote]Buffy creator Joss Whedon, who also wrote the 1992 movie the series was based on, has no involvement in the reboot. He has not worked in Hollywood in any official capacity since facing a slew of misconduct allegations in 2021.

[quote]Described as the next chapter in the Buffyverse, the new incarnation is executive produced by Gellar, Zhao, Nora and Lilla Zuckerman as well as the original series’ executive producers Gail Berman of the Jackal Group and Fran Kuzui & Kaz Kuzui via Suite B. Also executive producing the pilot is Dolly Parton whose company Sandollar was producer on the original.

They're obviously trying to right the wrongs of the original's "extremely toxic male set," a complaint Gellar, Trachtenberg, Charisma Carpenter, and Amber Benson have all shared. This link goes around the paywall to Gellar's 2022 confirmation that the women of Buffy were treated like shit.

[Quote] He has nothing to do with the reboot.

But the whole idea is his “sexy girl boss” jerkoff material fantasy.

R2 😂 you cynical cunt. I really hope they do it well. Buffy is one of my favorite shows. Whatever happened to the True Blood reboot?

It has to be her alone or possibly with Dawn and Giles. Perhaps Willow.

Boreanaz has vowed never to return because of Whedon.

No one wants to work with Brendon.

Cordelia is dead.

Anya is dead.

Tara is dead.

Marsters looks haggard these days.

Maybe Seth Green would come back.

What’s wrong with Brendon. Didn’t he beat cancer.

They kept the comic (which is canon) going for a while with multiple slayers. Also, the article says revival not reboot so it would presumably continue where the series left off not start all over again R10.

I was typing a similar post when yours popped up, R16. My thoughts on returning cast:

Alyson Hannigan and Anthony Head are strong maybes. I think they'd make guest appearances at least.

James Marsters is a hard no. He's said for years he's too old to play Spike now. Unless they pony up the cash for de-aging CGI, he'll steer clear.

Charisma Carpenter, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Nicholas Brendan are already blowing up their agents' phones. Not sure where Brendan is with his mental health/sobriety these days; who knows if they'd even take him back.

I'm leaning "no" on Seth Green. He's got other stuff going on, plus I didn't recognize him the last interview I saw of his.

David Boreanaz will participate if they write a big enough check.

Is Nick Brendon's twin brother sober and employable?

Oh my.

Will lil Angel be making a cumeo apperance?

^ No but his wig will be.

You can't bring back Angel, Spike or Darla because Vampires aren't supposed to age.

Omgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomgomg and omg

Have you SEEN Dawn lately? Yikes.

I think the Boom Studios comics had the right idea and the Deadline article called it a revival but then also a reboot in the same article. Since they are just hiring the writers I don't think we'll know for a bit.

By creating a new universe to play with where [italic]some version[/italic] of the events of the first series happened (just like the TV series did with the movie) a new show could leave it open for new people to watch, keep everyone potentially alive (rather than think of excuses for all of them) and be able to use the same characters in a different context.

You'd lose Joss' history but still be able to throw references at the OG version.

Since the show has been off the air for so long, could they do the Buffy is the mom to a teenage daughter of her own who gains slayer powers and has to learn how to use them from Buffy and maybe also Giles and Willow?

Reboot? The show itself is a reboot of the iconic movie. Even though Kristy Swanson has turned into a disgusting MAGat, I still prefer her original Buffy and the film to the TV series.

[quote]Reboot? The show itself is a reboot of the iconic movie.

I liked her in that movie and I liked that Merrick existed and Buffy went to a different school in Los Angeles before the series so it wasn't completely erased. She's a freshman in the tv show and a senior in the movie, her parents are not great in the movie and Merrick isn't British.

As an aside: according to Variety, Sarah will show up as Buffy but the show won't focus on her. She'll only be recurring. Makes sense since she's almost 50 and probably wants to work when she feels like it, still have influence over the show and doesn't want to pull a Queen Latifah in the Equalizer and cut to a younger stunt double a couple of times an episode doing kicks and backflips.

Bring back bad girl Faith! Or did she die? I didn’t watch Buffy until the end.

Brendon had a recurring role on Criminal Minds. Why are people saying he's unemployable?

[quote]Bring back bad girl Faith! Or did she die? I didn’t watch Buffy until the end.

Faith survived and Eliza Dushku, despite being one of Whedon's favorites (leading to rumors of an affair), lauded Charisma Carpenter for coming forward.

The original 2nd slayer was Beyoncé’s ex stepsister Bianca Lawson.

[quote]The original 2nd slayer was Beyoncé’s ex stepsister Bianca Lawson.

She was also originally cast as Cordelia Chase but wasn't allowed to do it once another show she auditioned for in ABC went to series. They liked her so much they brought her back as Kendra.

[quote]Faith survived and Eliza Dushku, despite being one of Whedon's favorites (leading to rumors of an affair), lauded Charisma Carpenter for coming forward.

Eliza also announced that she officially retired last year after not working for several years following the issues Michael Weatherly sexually harassing her on Bull then getting her fired when she asked him to stop. She went back to school and was working on her masters last year.

Oh really. Didn’t know that; that’s interesting. So a black lightskin chick was going to bully Sarah Michelle Gellar. I wonder if the show was Sister Sister as she used to be recurring on that.

R36, I just went back and checked. The show was Goode Behavior starring Sherman Hemsley, she played his daughter and it was on UPN not ABC. Either way, because of her contract, once they went to series before Buffy did, she had to turn down the role of Cordelia Chase and Charisma got it.

I was interested when I thought it would be starring SMG. But if she’s just gonna pop in for occasional appearances it sounds like it’ll be more like That ‘90s Show or the CW’s 90210 and Melrose reboots, which were duds.

NO MORE REBOOTS

Returning as what OP? A desiccated corpse?

R38 I agree. I want her as the lead.

If they don't want Buffy to be the slayer they could at least make her the watcher for a younger slayer. But having her just pop in for the occasional appearance seems stupid. I'd almost rather they not include her at all then.

If Buffy isn't the slayer and just pops up occassionally as the OG slayer, it suggests that the series finale when a bunch of slayers were created isn't going to be abandoned.

I don't know how you'd explain that after a bunch of new slayers were created that it suddenly reverted to one, but the OG one at the time remained a slayer, as well.

It would be nice if Faith showed up again. I wonder how well she and SMG got along - that's probably the single biggest issue for whether Faith returns. CBS paid her $9.5mm to settle the Weatherly case. It's interesting that he's been allowed back to NCIS. Did they settle because they were going to lose and wanted to end the bad publicity? Why would people take the risk on hiring him, given that most people had their careers tank. Hers is one of the cases that actually seemed legitimate.

How can a show that was built as a TV reboot of a movie be rebooted? Da fuck?

[quote]How can a show that was built as a TV reboot of a movie be rebooted? Da fuck?

Apparently, Whedon HATED the movie. His vision for the movie was less comedic and campy. He had intended it to be more like the tv show ended up being. When you peel away the supernatural elements, the story was a coming of age story about a young woman having to deal with life.

There are times when reboots work. The Battlestar Galactica reboot worked much better than the original tv show. Other times the whole "grimdark" trend is tiresome.

[quote]It would be nice if Faith showed up again. I wonder how well she and SMG got along - that's probably the single biggest issue for whether Faith returns.

They couldn't even be bothered to invite her to the EW Buffy reunion, although SMG said she had nothing to do with who was and wasn't there.

I actually think the premise of the reboot is a missed opportunity. Sure there would be jokes about Buffy with a walker, but the original show pretty well covered the horrors of young adulthood. Middle age, on the other hand, is ripe for exploration in this genre.

[quote]Middle age, on the other hand, is ripe for exploration in this genre.

One theme in fantasy/scifi that is rarely explored is what happens to the heroes AFTER the heroic event and the masses start forgetting who you are.

She saved the world - a lot. But, after 10 or 20 years no one remembers all the pain and sacrifice it took to save them.

What happens to someone when their entire life's purpose is actually achieved. Sure, killing random vampires is going to be necessary. But, that's small potatoes compared to everything else.

One thing that always struck me was that Spike once explained that all the past slayers eventually grew weary of it and that is how he killed so many of them. Buffy was clearly weary of it all by the end (her resurrection and being ripped from Heaven notwithstanding).

I like the film but is no way on the level of the tv series. The film was a black comedy spoofing movies like The Lost Boys. It’s not that great actually just nostalgic. Buffy was brilliant. There would be no Lost, no Dark Angel, no Tru Blood, no Stranger Things without Buffy.

The original slayer was created by a group of shamans, so maybe they could explain away the multiple slayers by saying since it was just Willow casting such a big spell it eventually wained, or had to be broken because it required too much power from one person.

[quote]There would be no Lost, no Dark Angel, no Tru Blood, no Stranger Things without Buffy.

And there would be no SMG Buffy without the Kristy Swanson one.

Is there a role for Vincent Kartheiser in this?

Vincent Kartheiser really wasn't all that bad an actor, but Whedon's vendetta against Charisma Carpenter seriously fucked him over too.

Kartheiser does not have fond memories of working with Whedon.

[quote]Vincent Kartheiser really wasn't all that bad an actor, but Whedon's vendetta against Charisma Carpenter seriously fucked him over too.

He said the problem was that people were just doing a job and didn't really care about the show. They had their audience no matter what they did so people were complacent. He didn't understand Joss' writing. He also disagreed with how they were treating the character and didn't listen to any of his thoughts on it. So he was happy to be gone since it was clear they didn't know what to do with the character.

R55, if one Angel could have had the relationship with his son that Bryan Johnson has with his son. Angel and Bryan Johnson have something in common, they drink their son’s blood and they live forever.

[quote]Kartheiser does not have fond memories of working with Whedon.

And no one has fond memories of working with Kartheiser, including the Mad Men bunch. There's a reason you don't see him in anything anymore, he's one of those genuinely difficult actors.

[quote]How can a show that was built as a TV reboot of a movie be rebooted? Da fuck?

It's not a reboot, it's a continuation, i.e. it will pick up twenty years after the original show ended. I don't know why OP changed it to a reboot when the tweet clearly says revival.

Who owned Buffy ? I'd assume it is Whedon.

Fox owns "Buffy," with the aforementioned Fran Kuzui and Sandollar (via the late Sandy Gallin, Dolly Parton's business partner) possessing what amounts to tiny slivers of parts of it.

OG Buffy will offer weekly coverage of the new Wild Wild West of Slayers for FOX.

There will be visiting both-sider demons - specifically T Carlson one who tans his taint while ass-tonguing Putin.

I used to LIVE for the cheerleader routine set to C+C Music Factory's "Keep it Coming" that opened the movie.

I was always pissed they reintroduced Amy the abused, mother-possessed cheerleader, only to have her be evil even without mom's help.

Fox owns 'Buffy' the character and the show concept, but Whedon owns the other characters, so he has to be onside (and presumably paid) if they want Giles, Willow, Xander etc to appear.

Sorry, I take that back on further investigation.

The more details that come out, the more I fear this revival is just a glorified reboot, with SMG only occasionally popping in to remind viewers they're watching a Buffy show.

[quote]That new Slayer seems to skew more Willow than Buffy. Per preliminary and subject-to-change intel, she’s a cerebral 16-year-old named Nova (though we’re fairly certain that name is just a placeholder) who is very smart and a bit of a loner.

[quote]Her buddies, aka those who would’ve been considered the “Scoobies” in the original series, will include Hugo, an out-and-proud nerd who comes from money, and Gracie, a young expert on vampires who’s an acolyte of Gellar’s Buffy. Casting is currently underway on all three roles.

they can’t reboot it around SMG. she oks like a different person now from surgeries.

wouldn’t recognize her walking down the street.

R68 Oh give me a break--yes you would.

R66 Great. More passing the torch to Gen Z reboot/revival bullshit.

I don't really see the point of the reboot if Buffy is just reduced to a Giles type of role. I want to be excited for this and I'll give it a shot, but so far doesn't sound like a great idea

Jesus, she looks like Patti Lupone.

Not that excited about it. It seems clear her role will just be as a mentor to a new slayer. I want middle aged Buffy kicking ass and in charge of everything.

[quote]I want middle aged Buffy kicking ass and in charge of everything.

I want a middle-aged Buffy to say in the middle of a fight with as much snark as SMG is capable of producing, "Im way too old to still be doing this."

Exactly R74!

They could turn/reveal all the vamps have been turned human /mortal by a spellbinder for 1 last blast = Spike, Dru, Angel, etc.

New cast, filming starts next month.

And yes, it's sadly clear by now that old characters will appear just to pass the torch to the new ones.

I was just wondering what happened to Daniel di Tomasso last week when googling the Witches of East End show for the purposes of a Julia Ormond WHET thread.

How bereft Hollywood must of fresh ideas that they're rebooting a series that was itself a re-imagining of a movie.

I fairness, the series got a life of its own and is way more beloved than the movie. I often forget the movie even exists (never seen it) whereas I consider myself the premiere Buffy fan in my country.

r6, you mean Zombie Michelle Tractenberg?

[quote]I fairness, the series got a life of its own and is way more beloved than the movie. I often forget the movie even exists (never seen it) whereas I consider myself the premiere Buffy fan in my country.

It’s the opposite for me. I saw the movie twice in the theaters and loved it, but have never watched a full episode of the tv show. They always tend to darken the source material and make it more dramatic when these classic ‘80s/‘90s movies are turned into tv series (e.g., Teen Wolf). Kristy Swanson may be a MAGA deplorable these days, but she will always be thee Buffy to me.

[quote]Dolly Parton will executive produce via Sandollar.

I never knew Dolly was an executive producer of the original series - not that she likely took an active role. But, how/why would she have ever been connected in the first place (not that I'm curious enough to google to find out).

[quote]That leaves Michelle Tractenberg and DL fav Allison Hannigan.

[quote][R6], you mean Zombie Michelle Tractenberg?

Well, r81, I wrote that on Feb 3, 2025, while she died on Feb 26, 2025.

Girl Power!!

Dolly thought it was a great idea to show that girls could kick ass.

Ryan Kiera Armstrong IS Nova the vampire slayer!

[quote]In a promising sign, a writers room is opening to work on additional scripts, with a March start eyed if the pilot is picked up to series.

Actress is 15, by the way. I guess that name wasn't a placeholder after all (see r66).The more I read about this, the more I fear we're getting a CW show for the kiddies.