What Does The 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' Cast Think Of The Reboot?

On July 20, 2018, Fox Television Studios announced that they were planning a reboot of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

According to reports, Joss Whedon was planned to executive produce the series, whereas Monica Owusu-Breen was selected as the showrunner. Since that time, very few details have come out about the show. No actors have been attached to the project, and no official script has been ordered.

However, with more news coming out about the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” 25th anniversary special planned, many fans are hoping that they will finally get some good news regarding the reboot.

Here’s what the original “Buffy” cast had to say about the possibility of a reboot, which many believe will focus on a new Slayer inside the “Buffy” universe.

The original “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Sarah Michelle Gellar, told Deadline that she was not involved in the new series, nor was she planning on returning as the titular character.

“I do think that story lends itself; it’d be interesting to see how a chosen one would deal with that,” Gellar said. “I don’t think it’s me. I don’t think I should be the one doing it.”

She joked that she’s “way too tired and cranky to put in that work again.”

AlysonHannigan, who played Buffy’s best friend, the witch Willow Rosenberg, initially said that it “would hurt” if they remade the same show featuring a younger cast playing the same characters.

A month later, she said that she stood behind the original show and said they should air “reruns on primetime.”

She said that the original show “was just so incredible and it was, I think, so ahead of its time. Honestly, they should just put reruns on primetime. I feel like the old show would still hold up. At least that's what people keep telling me. Now the fans of the show, their children are watching, so we have a whole other generation.”

“But I just don’t know,” she added. “I just hope the reboot is as good as ours was.”

David Boreanaz, who played the vampire Angel on “Buffy” and the spin-off show “Angel,” said “I think it's great. I'm sure they'll find the right storylines and the right people to fill shoes of whatever characters they want to portray. It was great to be a part of it when it first started, and now to see it being revived is just another testimony to the hard work that we did. I congratulate that, and applaud that.”

He added that he would “lend my support from afar” but mentioned that, since Angel doesn’t age, it’s possible that the reboot might find a way to work in his character in some way. “Whatever they want to do with the character, it’s such a wide, huge universe, you can really go anywhere with characters. I think the storylines will somehow reflect what the characters were about in the past. It’s all bloodline, so to speak.”

After the news went live, Nicholas Brendon, who played Buffy’s friend Xander Harris, tweeted, “Reading the articles I’m pretty sure the new Buffy is a reboot (continuing stories) and not a remake (new actors playing the original roles).”

He also started a fan poll asking if fans would watch since they knew Whedon was involved. 34.5% said yes, 23.7% said no, and 41.8% said they would need more information before making a decision.

Anthony Stewart Head, who played Buffy’s Watcher and the Sunnydale High School Librarian Rupert Giles, tweeted, “Whether a reboot or a spin-off, or Re-vamp (see what I did there) it is finally something that Joss will oversee, and it is his universe – he has developed extraordinary storylines in the comic book – and it will take the viewers way beyond anything they expect. Er… The Body!”

James Marsters, who played the vampire Spike, tweeted, “Holy c---! ‘Buffy’ is getting a reboot?!! Awesome! Black teen Buffy, cool! Joss is producing, thank god! Empowering the female youth, spectacular!!! Personally I hope that the new show retains the message of “Don’t give up, not on yourself, not on the world.” What do you think?”

Although no cast is attached to the project, it has been rumored that a Black actress may take on the role of the next Slayer. However, very little is known about the project at this stage. Fans have their fingers crossed that they’ll get more news on March 10, 2022, when “Buffy” celebrates its 25th anniversary to get more information!