Shortly after announcing that the Buffy reboot was officially canceled, Sarah Michelle Gellar opened up about what killed the beloved TV series’ return.
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While speaking to PEOPLE late last week, Gellar discussed the situation, including how she learned of the cancellation. She had been at the SWSX Film & TV Festival when she received the news.
“I was just about to take the stage in front of all the fans,” she explained. “Hulu had decided not to move forward with the Buffy revival. Let me tell you, nobody saw this coming.”
Although Buffy ended more than 20 years ago, Gellar was ready to bring the vampire slayer back to the small screen. She even teamed up with Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao to work on the revival that she pitched to Hulu and Searchlight Television.
“I’ve been asked since the day I left to return to Sunnydale,” she said. “And it never occurred to me that it was something I was going to do. Then four years ago, Chloé, the witch that she is — and I say that as a good thing — comes into my life. In one meeting, she makes me say ‘yes’ to something I never saw on my radar.”
Gellar further noted, “That was because of the deep love and commitment and passion she had for this character. It was like I was stepping back in time.”
Gellar and Zhao Filmed the Pilot Episode
The actress then said that she and Zhao filed the pilot episode, which introduced the new vampire slayer, Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
“Chloé and I talked a lot,” she continued. “The dialogue flew off the tongue. When I was on set, it was craziness. It was like, ‘Oh, we’re here. We’re doing this.’ I loved the duality that we had this new, younger slayer who was where Buffy was when the show started, and then we would pick up with where Buffy was now.”
She went on to praise Armstrong by calling her a “superstar.”
“I’m gutted that no one will see her as a slayer,” Gellar declared.
The actress then said that the timing of the cancellation was not expected. “No one saw this coming, including the head of Searchlight [Pictures],” she explained, pointing out that her new Ready or Not 2 is a Searchlight production. “And I got the call as we were stepping onto stage for the premiere of their own movie. And it’s also the weekend of Chloé going to the Oscars as a best director nominee for Hamnet. For them to call us on the Friday of what should have been Chloé’s victory lap for an incredible film, and my world premiere of something that I worked very hard for is…”
“That says something,” she added.