Over the weekend, the news broke that Hulu had decided not to move forward with Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale. The reboot was set to shift the spotlight to Ryan Kiera Armstrong, the daughter of Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy Summers.
A pilot has been shot, but it will, fortunately or unfortunately, never see the light of day. Rumour has it that Buffy only appeared in the final 30 seconds or so of the opening episode, so chances are it was the new young cast that struggled to recapture the magic of the original series.
Variety spoke with Eternals and Hamnet director Chloé Zhao on the Oscars red carpet, and the filmmaker, who helmed the pilot, admitted that she was "not surprised" by Hulu's decision.
"I had an incredible, incredible time with Sarah [Michelle Gellar], with all the cast and crew doing this. And we, first and foremost, see ourselves as the guardians of the original show," Zhao said. "Our priority for Sarah and for us has always been to be truthful to the show, to be truthful to our fans."
"So, things happen for a reason, and we keep our hearts open, and we welcome the mystery. And what this might lead us to." Asked if she and Gellar intend to shop Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale elsewhere, Zhao replied, "Welcome the mystery."
For what it's worth, multiple outlets have said that Hulu still has a "lot of love" for the Buffy franchise and will consider future iterations of the IP. That seems to suggest this current version won't be reshot, and while Gellar would likely return, chances are the notion of her having a daughter is scrapped or completely reimagined.
That's a shame for Armstrong, especially after the impressive work she delivered in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. There will be other opportunities for the 16-year-old actress, who took to Instagram to share a snapshot of her character—reportedly named Nova—and her regrets that New Sunnydale isn't moving forward.
"I'm sure many of you have already heard the news by now," the actress said in an Instagram Story. "But I wanted to come on here and say thank you for all of the support that you guys have given me and this show throughout the past couple [of] months. It’s been really special."
She added, "I'm really proud of what we did. I'm sad that you guys won't be able to see it, but it doesn't take away from the amazing experience that I had."
"I also want to say thank you to all of the fans and all of the people that believed in this new chapter and that believed in me," Armstrong concluded. "We brought this back for you guys, and Buffy is such a big part of all of our lives, and it's not going anywhere. So who knows what the future will hold."
We've heard mixed things about the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale's pilot, including the fact that the villains were vampires who had been trapped beneath the town for decades and looked and sounded like they'd stepped straight out of the 90s.
As for Gellar's reduced role, while we'd expect her to have more to do in subsequent episodes, a brief cameo/return in the pilot's closing minutes might have overwhelmed some longtime Buffy fans.