Chloé Zhao is sharing an exciting update on the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot series.
Oscar winner Zhao, 43, is one of the brains behind the proposed revival with Sarah Michelle Gellar, serving as an executive producer and director after approaching Gellar, 48, with an idea to bring back Buffy Summers and the Scooby Gang.
“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,” Zhao shared in an interview with The Los Angeles Times on Sunday, August 31. “The fandom is so special to me and I’m excited about how that’s going to go into the world.”
Hulu ordered a pilot for the reboot, which will star Gellar and newcomer Ryan Kiera Armstrong, 15, playing a new slayer. Zhao, who is just the second woman to win the Oscar for Best Director for the 2020 film Nomadland, directed the pilot.
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“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,” Gellar shared in a February Instagram post about the reboot. “I was blown away that Chloé even knew who I was, but, as I’ve always done, I told Gail that I just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again. We’d always been aligned on that, but this time I heard something different in her 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.”
“This has been a long process, and it’s not over yet. I promise you, we will only make this show if we know we can do it right. And I will tell you that we are on the path there,” Gellar wrote in February.
In May, Gellar announced Armstrong’s casting as Buffy’s new protégée in an Instagram post, tagging both the teen actress and Hulu.
“I want to introduce you to @ryankarmstrong … From the moment I saw Ryan’s audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side,” the actress wrote. “To have that kind of emotional intelligence and talent, at such a young age is truly a gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room. Welcome to #NewSunnydale #btvs.”
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There is no word yet on whether Hulu has ordered the pilot to series.
The original Buffy the Vampire Slayer series aired for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003, first on The WB before moving over to UPN.
