Chloé Zhao confirms new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series is not a reboot: ‘I would never allow that’

Filmmaker clears up confusion over new series and calls meeting Sarah Michelle Gellar ‘one of the most stressful moments of my life’

Chloé Zhao confirmed that the forthcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer series was not a reboot but instead a sequel, adding that she would never allow the original characters to be replaced.

In a new interview, the Hamnet director cleared up any confusion fans might have had about their favourite characters being played by new actors.

“It’s not a reboot. It’s a sequel. You can never replace these characters. I would never allow that,” the Oscar winner told Variety. “And Sarah is back. I love my cast, the new cast. We will bring back OG characters for sure.”

“And it’s a show that bridges two generations – it’s not just about the kids. I think the fandom is so important to us. We want the fandom to see themselves mirrored in the original fandom. And of course, we want new fans to join, and it’s very much about both generations.”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which started airing in 1997, follows Buffy Summers, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, the newest “slayer” fated to fight supernatural creatures like vampires.

She is guided in her quests by her watcher, Anthony Stewart Head’s Rupert Giles, and helped by a loyal group of friends, including powerful witch Willow Rosenberg, played by Alyson Hannigan, and Xander Harris, played by Nicholas Brendon. The series ended after seven seasons in 2003.

Chloé Zhao confirms new ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ series is not a reboot but a sequel (Getty)

In the sequel, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, 15, stars alongside Gellar as the new slayer, with her character described in the casting materials as an introverted high school student.

Zhao said she “religiously” watched the original series. “We would all gather – I think it was every Thursday or Tuesday – and we would watch because you only get one episode and you’re waiting a week. It’s such a ritual. I remember the last episode finishing, and we sat there; everyone was crying, and we were all holding hands. I remember looking at the screen, tears streaming down my eyes, and I said, ‘Good luck to you, Buffy Summers, good luck to you.’ Seeing Sarah in real life was probably one of the most stressful moments of my life.”

Original Buffy creator Joss Whedon is not involved in the forthcoming series. Whedon, who wrote the 1992 movie the series was later based on, was accused in 2021 of toxic misconduct on the sets of Justice League and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer follows Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy Summers as she battles supernatural creatures (Getty)

In August, Zhao shared that she had finished filming the pilot. “I just wrapped the pilot on the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, which is set 25 years later. My company is part of developing it. The fandom is so special to me and I am excited about how that’s going to go into the world,” she told the Los Angeles Times.

There is still no clarity on which members of the original Buffy cast might make an appearance in the new series.

In February, James Marsters, who played the anti-hero vampire Spike in the original, hinted that he would be returning.

Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase in the original series and its spinoff Angel, shared in August this year that she was not in the pilot. “Hey, I get asked this a lot, ‘Are you doing the reboot?’, and I thought I would address it,” she said in a TikTok video. “I am not in the reboot. I am not in the pilot. I don’t even know if the show has been picked up to go to series. I assume it will be.”