‘Buffy’ Reboot Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar Not Going Forward At Hulu

by cmaia1503

36 Comments

  1. > The news comes a year after the streamer ordered a pilot for the project, with Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, a self-professed lifelong Buffy fan, directing from a script written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face).

    > The decision comes after weeks of speculation about the fate of the pilot. Sources described it as “not perfect,” noting the Zhao’s sensibility may not have been the perfect match for the reboot. Zhao is now riding a wave of critical acclaim for her latest movie, Hamnet.

    > There had been talk about reworking the pilot. In the end, Hulu opted not to proceed with it but remains high on the Buffy IP and plans to regroup and mull a possible new incarnation of the beloved franchise.

  2. amendmentforone on

    I was starting to wonder about this. Not exactly HBO-levels of production needed for development to take this long.

    Bummer.

  3. Damn, whilst I think too many things are trying to do revival series, this is one I was actually really hoping would happen. SMG seemed really excited by it

  4. Two high profile shows that Disney has passed on now, first David Chase’s Witsec show for FX and now the Buffy reboot from a world renowned writer/director. Kind of crazy.

  5. hhhisthegame on

    I was worried about how this would even be, because the original show is so good and I don’t see how you can re-create that, especially with none of the same people involved (I understand why you wouldn’t want to work with Joss, but if that’s the case, I wonder if it’s worth reviving his IPs)

    But at the same time, I’m still sad that we have new filmed stuff of SMG as an older Buffy and may never get to see it 🙁

  6. PossibleBasil on

    Surprising news, I can’t say I was super excited about it but I was curious at the very least. I wonder if it would have been more attractive as a reunion with the entire cast returning instead of just a legacy sequel / soft reboot. Who’s to say, I’m surprised with how hot Zhao is right now that they wouldn’t give it a shot.

  7. Frankly… good. It was an incredible show. No need to tarnish its legacy. Let it rest in peace.

  8. primal_slayer on

    The Gellar-curse is still strong and alive sadly.

    But I’m not surprised. You don’t film a pilot that long ago with no news.

  9. Ek_Chutki_Sindoor on

    I thought it had already started shooting.

    I do think that a new version of Buffy wouldn’t have turned out good without the trademark Whedon humour.

  10. I have been afraid this revival would just tarnish the legacy of buffy and I must say that I’m glad it is not being produced if it is not of the same quality. We don’t need to revisit every major succes in the past and definitely not it the story is just not what it should be.

  11. My guess it was looking to
    Be too expensive for what in the end would is be a cult show.

  12. Pizza-Pirate-6829 on

    Whedon was a huge arsehole but it would be hard to capture the same charm without him

  13. Recalibrate and shop it to another network. I don’t care if it’s on Tubi. It will be a good idea to shop it to Peacock or Prime.

  14. sodaonmyheater on

    I’m currently on a Buffy rewatch and I was nervous but optimistic about this reboot, I guess in the end I’m glad it didn’t go forward. I’d hate the shows legacy to be damaged even more than what Joss and the terrible hi-def release have both done to it.

  15. Zhao was not the right person to bring this back. Buffy needs some James Gunn kind of humour and heart to work. Obviously Joss Whedon isn’t an option but this show needs a similar director.

    I think Eric Kripke would be the best choice. Supernatural, The Boys etc. He deals with humour and dark themes in a fantastic way.

  16. Material-Lab-7992 on

    Just started rewatching Buffy and was literally looking for this last night as I recalled hearing something. Noticed there were no updates for a while and thought “hmmm doesn’t seem good”.

  17. My interest in anything these streaming services offer continues to dwindle, the Buffy hype hasn’t really died down since Covid and reworking the pilot and going with a different creative would’ve printed Disney money. This seems like a poor decision since the IP even with the crappy remasters has been evergreen for newer generations since it ended

  18. AnySignificance4361 on

    Although I absolutely love SMG, a reboot is never as good as the original.  You can never go home

  19. kiyonemakibi100 on

    Just as well really, the original is still great and it really doesn’t need a pale rehash

  20. I thought the combination of Chloe Zhao with a very young new slayer was weird. Oh well.

  21. starsandbribes on

    People getting good mixed up with profitable. It could have been a terrible pilot on an intellectual level but if Disney thought it’d make money they’d go ahead (have you SEEN the trash on ABC network tv these days?). Its odd for something that would at least get 2 seasons of hype, to be cancelled. i don’t buy that this would get zero attention on release. Scrubs has been on a great press tour and given great ratings.

  22. ThomasVivaldi on

    The idea of doing both a new group of Scoobies and Buffy’s whole life in the space of eight episodes was a ridiculous ask in the first place.

  23. I’m conflicted. It’s a shame we don’t get more but also we all know how lots of these reboots work out.

  24. I’m not reading Hollywood news again so I don’t get my hopes up I should just be pleasantly surprised when things come out

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