Sarah Michelle Gellar is disappointed that Hulu canceled Chloé Zhao’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, but she hopes the pilot they shot never actually sees the light of day.
During an appearance on Page Six’s “P6 Radio” on Wednesday, hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real told Geller that they hope the pilot will be leaked so fans can see what the show, titled “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale,” would be like. But Geller disagrees.
“I actually hope that doesn’t happen,” she said. “I mean, everybody’s going to have an opinion on this and that, and the pilot isn’t finished yet. It’s not finished, right? It’s not like we made a season and finished it and then it was shelved. It’s not like when we made the Batgirl movie and it never came out.”
On Wednesday, Variety exclusively reported that Gellar’s iconic character Buffy Ann Summers barely appeared in the pilot episode of “New Sunnydale.” Instead, a pilot draft obtained by Variety introduces entirely new characters, led by a new teenage Slayer played by Ryan Keira Armstrong. Buffy only appeared at the end and had only one line.
Geller went on to say that the show “intentionally created a pilot because it introduces new characters,” adding, “Sometimes we learn from that, and sometimes we make adjustments.”
“Typically, pilots don’t air in their entirety,” she says. “These are learning tools. I mean, the original Buffy pilot had nothing to do with the show. It was a different Willow. I mean, it was a completely different show. But they are learning tools, and that’s what pilots are.”
Geller told P6 Radio that a version of the script circulating online is “actually not correct” and urged fans not to read it.
“That’s really unfortunate. I ask all our fans, if you see the script or see it leaked, please don’t watch it because you don’t understand our vision or anything like that,” she said.
Last weekend, Gellar broke the news to fans about the show’s cancellation in an Instagram video. “I’m really sad to have to share this, but I wanted you all to hear my story. Unfortunately, Hulu has decided not to move forward with production of Buffy: The New Sunnydale,” she said. Geller, whose new movie Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, is currently in theaters, has accused Hulu executives of canceling the reboot.
“We had an executive on our show who took pride in not only not being a fan of the original, but never watching the entire series and constantly reminding us how much it didn’t work for him,” she told People magazine on Monday. “It’s very hard to come by something as beloved as ‘Buffy,’ not only around the world, but also for me and Chloe. I mean, for a company executive to literally be so proud to tell you he didn’t see it speaks to the uphill battle that we’ve been fighting since day one.”
Reflecting on speaking out, Geller said, “Usually I’m not the one to say everything, but for the fans this time, it’s more than just a show, right? It’s in our DNA. And I think that should be respected. And even when I see it not being respected, I have to stand up for it, because it’s important to me.”
