Buffy the Vampire Slayer showrunner responds to reboot criticism: 'It could be time to meet a new Slayer'

'Joss Whedon’s brilliant and beautiful series can’t be replicated... I wouldn’t try to'


 Gellar as Buffy and Angel, played by David Boreanaz (Rex features)
 (Rex Features )

Over the Comic-Con weekend, news circulated that a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot was on the way.

The reaction was, expectedly, mixed. Many fans were unhappy that Sarah Michelle Gellar would no longer be the lead character, and that Joss Whedon would allow someone to mess with the iconic television show.

Showrunner Monica Owusu-Breen – who will helm the upcoming series – has since issued a statement clarifying a few things, most notably that Buffy, Xander, Monica, and other beloved characters will not be replaced.

“Joss Whedon’s brilliant and beautiful series can’t be replicated,” she wrote. “I wouldn’t try to.”

Instead, Owusu-Breen notes, it’s time for a new Slayer – someone new to lead the fight against the undead.

“Here we are 20 years later... And the world seems a lot scarier. So maybe, it could be time to meet a new Slayer...” Read the full statement below.

Owusu-Breen, best known for Alias and Lost, has beenworking on the upcoming pilot episode with Whedon – who will act as executive producer – since late last year, the aim being to have a black actress take on the Slayer title.

No casting announcements have been made although there will be an emphasis on diversity. The series will also continue the mythology of the original show, which ended in 2003 but continued in comic-book form.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has often been heralded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time, kick-starting the careers of many writers and making Whedon a highly celebrated writer and director.

Whether Whedon additional roles to executive producer remains unknown. HBO has recently commissioned a new series from him, titled The Nevers.