Buffy The Vampire Slayer Revival: Will It Happen? Everything We Know

A Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival has been teased several times over the years, and thanks to ongoing comic books and Buffyverse audio adventures, the demand for a reboot has never waned. The original Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003. The show spawned one major spinoff, Angel, which ran for five seasons of its own. The franchise has remained immensely popular, leading to the announcement of a new TV series in 2018. While this never materialized, the speculation around a revival of Buffy the Vampire Slayer lives on.

The rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer were acquired by Disney in 2019 with their takeover of Fox. Thanks to streaming platform Hulu, the highly bingeable seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer found a new audience too. With the rise of Buffy cast members like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan, followup comics and audiobooks, and widely publicized stalled reboot attempts, it’s clear to see that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a franchise worth revisiting. Whether the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival will ever see a release date, however, is a decision down to Disney alone.

2:35 Related 10 Buffy The Vampire Slayer Moments That Made Viewers Quit The Show While Buffy the Vampire Slayer has remained a highly beloved television series, several moments led some viewers decision to quit watching.

The Latest Buffy The Vampire Slayer Revival News

Sarah Michelle Gellar Warms Up To A Buffy Revival

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Though no real movement has taken place on the revival's development, the latest news sees Sarah Michelle Gellar weigh in on a new Buffy series. Her performance as Buffy has come to define her career, but Gellar has been cold towards the idea of bringing the character back. However, while promoting her new series, Dexter: Original Sin, Gellar seems to have had a change of course when it comes to her legacy franchise. Mentioning other reboots, Gellar said "watching Sex and the City and... realizing there are ways to do it definitely does get your mind thinking."

Read Gellar's (and co-star Christian Slater's) comments here:

Gellar: It's funny. I always used to say 'no', like, because, you know, it's in its bubble and so perfect. But watching Sex and the City and seeing Dexter and realizing there are ways to do it definitely does get your mind thinking. Slater: It doesn't have to be a prequel. Gellar: It could be anything. It's a universe and it makes you realize that in this world we need those heroes, I think, more so than ever.

While this open-ended response is promising, it doesn't really confirm that a Buffy revival is coming soon. However, Gellar's involvement is perhaps the biggest hurdle that the potential series has had to face, and if she gets onboard, the train could really start rolling. Demand for more will never wane, and Gellar might finally be coming around to the idea of reprising her most famous character once again.

In 2010, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot movie was rumored to be in production with Vanessa Hudgens, but the project never happened.

The Buffy Revival Is Unconfirmed

No Official Revival Yet

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A Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot is unconfirmed, though this wasn't always the case. In 2018, it was announced a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival series was in the early stages of development. Joss Whedon was attached as an executive producer, while Monica Owusu-Breen (Midnight, Texas) would serve as showrunner. The planned 2018 Buffy reboot would have put diversity first and deal with real modern-day issues. However, an update in 2022 revealed the show was “on pause”, and there’s been little heard of the Monica Owusu-Breen Buffy revival since.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired its final episode on May 20, 2003.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Revival Cast

Who Could Return?

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The cast of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival would likely feature most or all of the original show’s lineup. Much of the demand for the return of Buffy to TV screens, and the show's popularity during its 1997-2003 run, is due to the chemistry of the core cast members. Sarah Michelle Gellar (Cruel Intentions, Wolf Pack) would be difficult to recast as Buffy. So would David Boreanaz (Bones, SEAL Team) as vampire and on-again-off-again love interest Angel.

The presumptive cast of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival includes:

Actor Buffy The Vampire Slayer Role Sarah Michelle Gellar Buffy David Boreanaz Angel James Marsters Spike Charisma Carpenter Cordelia Anthony Stewart-Head Giles Nicholas Brendon Xander Alyson Hannigan Willow Michelle Trachtenberg Dawn Emma Caulfield Anya Eliza Dushku Faith

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Reboot Story

What Happens After Season 7?

There’s no known story for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival, but there are several directions it can take. The Buffy comics have built out a lot more lore for the overall world of the franchise, which could be drawn from for a new TV series. The comics directly followed the events of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 7, which saw every potential Slayer in the world granted supernatural abilities at the same time, creating an army of empowered young women to battle the demons and the forces of darkness.

It could also build on themes of empowerment and female liberation present through Buffy the Vampire Slayer but through a modern lens.

A world filled with multiple slayers would be a great setup for a new show, as the writers could pick and choose any Slayer in any location and include others throughout as desired. It could also build on themes of empowerment and female liberation present through Buffy the Vampire Slayer but through a modern lens. In any case, the plot is perhaps the one aspect of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival that won’t be an issue at all, thanks to the rich lore of the Buffyverse being continually built upon since the show concluded.