Sarah Michelle Gellar Shares Timing Update on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Revival

The follow-up series to Buffy the Vampire Slayer may be here sooner than originally predicted, according to one of its key stars.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, who confirmed she will appear in a forthcoming reboot of the supernatural drama that attracted a legion of fans when it debuted in 1997, recently told People that the project is well and truly on its way.

“We’ve set up our offices, which means things are progressing probably faster than I’d anticipated,” Gellar, 47, told the outlet in an interview published on Saturday, March 15. She did, however, add that “it’s going to be a process” to ensure the return of her character, Buffy Summers, and the wider Buffy universe is perfected for a new generation of viewers.

“To do it the way it needs to be done, everyone has to be patient with all of us,” Gellar reminded fans. “This isn’t something that [will just happen].”

Us Weekly confirmed at the beginning of February that the TV series was in talks of a revival, just days before Gellar confirmed the news via Instagram. “So….. you might have heard some news this week, but I realize you haven’t heard from me,” the actress wrote via the social media platform on February 7. “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.” (Zhao, 42, was the second woman in history to be awarded the Oscar for Best Director in 2021 for her work on Nomadland starring Frances McDormand.)

Gellar, who starred in Buffy until the show’s finale in May 2003, continued, saying she “was blown away that Chloé even knew who I was.”

“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,” Gellar wrote. “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.”

Gellar, who worked alongside Alyson Hannigan, David Boreanaz, Nicholas Brendon, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Head and the late Michelle Trachtenberg on Buffy, admitted last month that she had felt overwhelmed by the reboot getting the green light.

“It’s heartwarming and exciting and also incredibly nerve-wracking at the same time,” the actress, who is married to Freddie Prinze Jr., told People on February 15. Her mixed feelings were revealed amid news that the Buffy reboot would feature a new lead character and Gellar would return in a recurring role, per Variety, who was one of the first outlets to report on the reboot’s confirmation.

Gellar will, however, serve as an executive producer alongside original Buffy EPs Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui via Suite B. Dolly Parton is also set to be an executive producer on the pilot after her Sandollar company was part of the original project. (Hulu and 20th Television had no comment on the news.)

Original Buffy creator Joss Whedon is not involved in the refreshed series, according to Deadline, following a series of misconduct allegations.