Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a show with a cult following, and is arguably one of the best teen supernatural dramas ever. The beloved series, which is streaming with a Hulu subscription, has the potential to return to TV thanks to Sarah Michele Gellar’s revival pilot for Hulu. And the beloved actress recently clarified some details about the project, as well as why it’s so “nerve-wracking.”
Gellar led the Buffy cast for seven seasons on the air, and she’s so far the only legacy character to be confirmed for the revival pilot. SMG’s Buffy photo dump showed a glimpse onto the pilot’s set, and in an interview with ET she clarified the type of project it is. In her words:
I will say that it’s not a reboot, it’s a continuation of a world. So it’s picking up 25 years later in a world of Buffy.
Points were made. While folks have been throwing the term reboot around, that’s technically not what the pilot is. Instead, it’s more of a revival continuing the narrative of the universe after Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s series finale. Hopefully Hulu actually orders a full series so we can see what Gellar and Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao cooked up.
Sarah Michelle Gellar spoke about how revivals get a bad wrap, so the pressure is on for Buffy if Hulu decides to move forward. Later in her same interview, the iconic scream queen admitted that it’s adding to the nerves associated with the possible revival. As she told it:
It’s equal parts incredibly thrilling but also it’s very nerve-wracking. People have been asking for this for so many years, but everyone also has an opinion on how it should be done.
Honestly, can you blame her? Buffy has remained super popular in the decades since it ended its original run on the air. The series finale was wildly satisfying, so any new installments in the franchise has the potential to spoil the way it stuck the landing. Still, fans like me have been dying for more content for years, and I will totally lose my mind if/when we see SMG in more episodes.
For years it seemed like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival was an impossibility. For her part, even Sarah Michelle Gellar seemed like she wasn’t sure about playing The Chosen One again. But that’s changed, with the Scream 2 star explaining what convinced her: the fans. In her words:
I’m doing it for the fans so I hope that they love it. It was made with a lot of love and a lot of passion. And a lot of thought behind it.
This sounds pretty amazing, and those generations of Buffy fans are going to be devastated if the revival isn’t picked up for a full season by Hulu. If that happens, there’s a possibility that we may never see what Gellar and Zhao worked on. I’m keeping my fingers (and wooden stakes) crossed for now.
The pilot reportedly featured Buffy training a new teenage Slayer, and after re-watching the Buffy finale it really sets that up well. That’s also why SMG is clarifying that the pilot isn’t a reboot, but a continuation of the same story.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is currently streaming in its entirety on Hulu, along with all of Angel. Hopefully we hear news about the streaming service’s plans for the pilot sooner rather than later.