‘We are on the right path’: Sarah Michelle Gellar issues statement on Buffy revival
The upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival is “for all the fans”, according to Sarah Michelle Gellar. Earlier this week (3 February), it was announced that Hulu will revive the iconic fantasy drama with the Cruel Intentions icon attached as executive producer, Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao as director and Poker Face showrunners Nora and Lilla Zuckerman as writers.
Dolly Parton, whose company Sandollar produced the classic 90s series, is also set to executive produce the pilot. After three days of pandemonium online from Buffy fans (and this writer), Gellar has issued a statement explaining her reasons for returning to the series, despite years of denying that a follow-up should exist. “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 started. “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.” Although Gellar revealed that she “didn’t agree” to returning as Buffy, widely regarded as one of the best television characters in history, she continued the conversations “over the next few years and eventually we added the incredible Nora and Lilla Zuckermna to our little tribe until ultimately, one day, we landed on an idea”. “I have always listened to the fans and heard your desire to revisit Buffy and her world, but it was not something I could do unless I was sure we would get it right.
