Sarah Michelle Gellar he broke his silence as to why Buffy the Vampire Slayer the reboot is no longer progressing.
“We had an executive on our show who was not only a fan of the first show, but he was proud to remind us every time that he had never seen the whole series and how it wasn’t about him,” said the actor, 48, in an interview. People published on Monday, March 16. “It’s very difficult when you take on a place as beloved as Buffy, not only for the world, but for me as well. Chloe [Zhao].”
Gellar, who said one person was wrong about winning the series, continued, “So that tells you the uphill battle that we’ve been fighting since day one, when your boss is actually proud to tell you that he didn’t watch it.”
He added that, after years of saying he would “never” reprise his role as the titular character, the motivation to return as the popular vampire slayer came from the show’s devoted fans.
“They were the only ones who made us do this show in the first place,” he recalled. “We were doing it because everyone liked it. So how do you make a show that is liked by someone who doesn’t like it?”
Last week, Gellar announced that Hulu was not moving forward with the reboot. The actress, who played vampire slayer Buffy Summers on the WB drama for seven seasons from 1996 to 2003, was preparing to introduce a new generation of vampire hunters and Zhao, 43, was tapped to direct the pilot.
Although Gellar had previously refused to return to her Buffy roots, Zhao presented him with an idea that made him rethink his situation.
“In one meeting, you can make me say ‘yes’ to something that I never saw on my radar,” Gellar muses. “That was because of the deep love and dedication and passion he has for this character. It was like stepping back in time.”
The resume, titled, Buffy: New Sunnydale, it would be a star Ryan Kiera Armstrongg as a new killer. Faly Rakotohavana, Ava Jean, Sarah Bock, Daniel Di Tomasso, Jack Cutmore-Scott again Kingston Vernes teamed up with the rest of the cast, Gellar returning to the stylish yet affordable Buffy boots.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to say that Ryan Kiera Armstrong is a star. I’m glad no one will see her as a killer,” Gellar admitted in a statement.
On Monday, Gellar revealed that she read about the news of Buffy’s finale ahead of her appearance at the SXSW Film & TV Festival for the premiere of her new film. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come Saturday, March 14.
“I was about to get on the stage in front of all the fans,” Gellar recalled to the outlet. “Hulu had decided not to continue with the group Buffy revival. Let me tell you, nobody saw this coming.”
Gellar shared on Monday that she and Zhao – who read the news before her Oscars appearance for her award-winning film. Hamnet — disappointed with the network’s decision.
“We don’t want to disappoint the fans. That’s sad. It’s sad how it was handled and when it was handled,” said Gellar. “But I just said to Chloé, and I was very specific, I said, ‘Sunday night, you put on that crown and you walk the red carpet and you bring in all that love for what you’ve worked for and you forget about other things.’ It is important to me that this does not take away from what we have achieved and what he has achieved. And there is always more to do.”
