Chloé Zhao Confirms OG Buffy Cast Will Appear
If you thought Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy Summers would be the only original cast member to appear in the sequel series, think again.
Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals), who is spearheading the revival at Hulu along with Gellar, has revealed that other original members of the show will appear.
Per Variety, Zhao gushed, "It is not a reboot. It’s a sequel. You can never replace these characters. I would never allow that. And Sarah’s back. I love my cast, the new cast. We will bring back OG characters for sure. And it is a show that bridges two generations — it’s not just about the kids."
"I think the fandom is so important to us. We want the fandom to see themselves mirrored in the original fandom. And of course, we want new fans to join, and it’s very much about both generations."
Zhao went on to add that she's a longtime fan of the series, having religiously watched it in college.
"I watched religiously. I was at Mount Holyoke. We would all gather — I think it was every Thursday or Tuesday — and we would watch, because you only get one episode and you’re waiting a week. It’s such a ritual. I remember the last episode finishing, and we sat there; everyone was crying, and we were all holding hands."
Where The Original Buffy TV Series Left Off
Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired in 1997 and concluded in 2002 after 144 episodes across 7 seasons. The show actually continued on in comic book form, thanks to a run of comics from Dark Horse, but it's believed that the upcoming continuation for Hulu will ignore those developments.
Longtime Buffy fans may recall the series finale, which saw Sunnydale sink into the Hellmouth and dozens of slayers awaken around the world thanks to a spell from Willow (Alyson Hannigan). It marked a huge departure from the show's premise that the Slayer was a single teenage girl, and it will be interesting to see how the revival reconciles these events.
Who's Involved With The Buffy Continuation
Sisters Nora and Lila Zuckerman (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Poker Face) will serve as co-showrunners with Zhao directing the pilot and executive producing the show.
Gellar is also listed as an executive producer along with the original executive producer of the show, Gail Berman.
In addition to Gellar as Buffy, the full cast for the show includes Ryan Kiera Armstrong (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew) as Nova, this generation's current slayer, along with series regulars Faly Rakotohavana (Unprisoned), Ava Jean, Sarah Bock (Severance), Daniel Di Tomasso (Dynasty, The Republic of Sarah) and Jack Cutmore-Scott (Tenet, Oppenheimer).
Additional cast members include Chase Sui Wonders, Merrin Dungey, Audrey Hsieh, and Audrey Grace Marshall.