– A spinoff series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was announced in February, with Hulu ordering the pilot
– Ryan Kiera Armstrong has been cast as the next slayer, and Sarah Michelle Gellar will reprise her role as Buffy Summers. She will also serve as executive producer
– In addition to Armstrong and Gellar, more names have been added to the show’s main cast, including Severance’s Sarah Bock, Unprisoned’s Faly Rakotohavana, and Oppenheimer star Jack Cutmore-Scott
– No release date, trailer or plot details have been revealed yet
A Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel spinoff series is officially in development. After years of toying with the possibility of rebooting one of the best TV series of all time, the series is finally on the way with a pilot ordered by Hulu – one of the best streaming services.
News of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot series first came in February when it was announced that the series would be returning after 20 years. At the time of the announcement, Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) was named the show’s director, and Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face) were announced as writers.
The next big question was whether the slayer herself Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played the role of Buffy Summers, would be returning. And in short, yes, Gellar will be returning to Sunnydale, joining the team as an executive producer – but what about the show’s original production team?
The original ‘90s show was written and directed by Joss Whedon, who in 2021 was accused of creating a toxic work environment on the set of the show as well as its spinoff series Angel. Therefore, it’s confirmed that Whedon won’t be returning to work on the next chapter in the Buffyverse. With that said, original Buffy the Vampire Slayer producers Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui, Kaz Kuzui, and Dolly Parton (yes, the Dolly Parton) will all be returning.
It’s still early days into the spinoff’s production, but we’ve already had some big casting announcements and teasers on Gellar’s social media pages. So don’t worry, we have our ears to the ground when it comes to all the recent updates regarding the show. Here’s everything we know about the next chapter of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Full spoilers follow for Buffy the Vampire Slayer seasons 1-7.
Release dates speculation
Though the pilot is currently in early stages of production and a new lead slayer has been cast, an exact release date has yet to be determined. According to IMDb, it’s billed to be released next year, but again, an official announcement is yet to be made – so we wouldn’t rule out 2027.
What we do know is that Nora and Lilla Zuckerman have been busy in the writers’ room, and it appears that table reads for the new spinoff series have already started. Recently Sarah Michelle Gellar shared a post to her Instagram with one image showing the front of the script for the pilot episode, blocking out the official title of the new show – which has only fuelled our intrigue.
Predicted cast
As well as stepping into the shoes of executive producer, Sarah Michelle Gellar will also be reprising her role as Buffy Summers. However this time, Buffy won’t be at the centre of the reboot. Instead, Buffy will be a recurring character and a brand new slayer will be the focus – and she’s been found.
Back in May, it was revealed that young actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong would be taking on the lead role in the sequel series. Gellar told the news to Armstrong herself sharing the announcement via an Instagram reel where she said ‘Welcome to the new Sunnydale’ – a possible nod at the show’s title maybe?
Prior to scoring the role as this generation’s next slayer, Armstrong kick-started her career in productions from some of the best streaming services including the Disney+ series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and Netflix’s Anne with an E.
For a while, Armstrong and Gellar were the only names attached to the spinoff’s cast, but more names have been announced, and a new Scooby gang has been formed.
In a report from Deadline, Faly Rakotohavana (Unprisoned), Ava Jean (Law & Order: SVU), Severance‘s Sarah Bock, Daniel Di Tomasso (CSI: Vegas) and Frasier and Oppenheimer star Jack Cutmore-Scott will be joining Armstrong and Gellar as series regulars – and their characters have also been confirmed.
When TV Line dropped details on the new Scooby gang a few months back, we took this speculation with a pinch of salt, however it appears that the outlet’s predictions are in fact true – and Deadline has also confirmed.
Starting with the new slayer, ‘Nova’ was a placeholder name circulating for some time, but now it appears that this will be the official name of Armstrong’s character. It was also shared that she would lean more into the characteristics of Willow, Buffy’s timid yet intellectual sidekick with a knack for witchcraft rather than the combat, kick-ass Buffy-esque persona – which has also turned out to be true.
As for Nova’s accomplices, Deadline shared that Rakotohavana will play Hugo, a nerdy but likeable high schooler from a privileged background, and Bock will take the role of Gracie, the ‘ringleader for a group of church-going students’. Both of these characters were mentioned in TV Line’s initial speculation, but there are other characters it missed out.
Joining Nova, Hugo, and Gracie is Larkin (played by Jean), a fellow high school student described as a ‘chronic do-gooder’ and Nova’s father Abe (played by Di Tomasso), a photojournalist and single parent. But you couldn’t have a Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff series without a strong academic figure, and we’re excited to see Cutmore-Scott take the role as Mr. Burke, a ‘popular high school teacher’.
Since the new gang of Scoobies has been recruited, three more actors have joined the mix of new characters in the Buffyverse.
Deadline announced that Merrin Dungey (The Lincoln Lawyer), Audrey Hsieh (Found) and Audrey Grace Marshall (The Flight Attendant) have been cast as guest stars for the pilot. If the reboot goes to series, they’ll serve as recurring characters.
Dungey will step into the role of the New Sunnydale Academy college counselor Ms. DaLuca, whereas Hsieh and Marshall will play the roles of high school students Keiko and Jessica, who are also part of the academy’s Evangelical Christian group – presumably the one led by Sarah Bock’s character.
In light of the recent cast additions, Gellar previously expressed her desire to bring back characters from Buffy’s past sharing with Vanity Fair Italia “My dream is to bring back everyone who has died, but space will have to be made for new stories as well”.
If Gellar’s dream comes to fruition, there’s an endless slew of characters from Buffy’s past that could be resurrected, but the fandom will certainly have its favorites – Joyce Summers being one of the frontrunners, who died in season five.
Other names that could crop up range from Jenny Calendar, who suffered a heart-shattering death at the hands of Angel in season two, Tara who was shot in front of her lover Willow in season six, and even Anya who died during the final moments of the finale episode. But as exciting as this may sound, it hasn’t been confirmed.
Plot rumors
Similar to its release date, we’re not exactly sure what direction the show will take plot-wise, however the reboot has been described as ‘the next chapter in the Buffyverse’, says Deadline. Additionally, Sarah Michelle Gellar also revealed to Vanity Fair that the reboot “Will be lighter than the last few seasons of the original”, adding “We will try to find a balance between new and old characters”.
Now that more faces have been added to the spinoff’s main cast, table reads have kicked-off, and sneak peak images of the set have been released (see below), we’re making baby steps towards uncovering the bigger details of the Hulu reboot. But with that said, the show’s plot details are still under wraps, so we can only speculate what will happen in the next installment of the Buffyverse.
Despite the golden rule of there being only one slayer at a time, the Hulu reboot could flip this on its head and explore the possibilities of there being multiple slayers – just as its season seven finale did. But this is simply a personal hypothesis.
Where to watch
Want to catch up on all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer before its spinoff series is released? There are plenty of platforms where you can stream all seven seasons including Hulu (US), and Disney+ and Paramount+ (UK and AU) – though only one season is available to stream on Disney+ in Australia.