Neil Vagg
20.5K posts
@neilvagg
Podcaster | @getyourcomicon1 editor & co-host | @IFSCritics, @filmcriticsuk and Horror Critics Association member | contact [email protected] (HE/HIM)
EXCLUSIVE: Inside Chloé Zhao’s failed "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" reboot: - Sarah Michelle Gellar’s return was shockingly minimal, with Buffy reduced to just one line in the pilot as the story centered on a new teen Slayer. - Sources say the project, which Zhao directed, was viewed as not mainstream enough and skewing too young, while Gellar has since blamed a Hulu executive who “was proud” he never watched the original series. - After multiple rewrites, the revival was ultimately deemed “unsalvageable” and scrapped. variety.com/2026/tv/news/b…
Ok. FUCK THIS. Sarah Michelle Gellar's people and maybe even HULU are trying to throw Chloe Zhao under the bus over Buffy. Nope. Not letting this happen to an INCREDIBLY TALENTED woman of color. I was gonna stay quiet with the other stuff I'd heard, but nah. Let's do this. Since my post 48 hours ago, I've had sources tell me that: - Gellar was the issue from the beginning - this was just an "IP grab" to stop that SLAYERS project from proceeding (which my sources had heard from a person involved with the original series) - Gellar wasn't terribly interested in rebooting the series (which was why her role was very limited, but was going to be more than one line) - Gellar had intentionally courted a creative who had a mixed history as a showrunner, but was a known“fan,” so that it would easily fall on her as the reason for the series’ failure. - that there was "a lot of love bombing from SMG to Chloe Zhao" before this latest excuse was put out there blaming Zhao and throwing her under the bus - Gellar constantly shouted down or cut off execs and production people who were trying to fix the issues with the show - One even said that what Gellar wanted to make changes to the Buffy character and the established canon of the series that would "piss off 90% of the fanbase" And now it just came out from @THR that Gellar doesn't want you reading the script that is being leaked. No surprise. It would show all the mistakes she approved of that were going to wreck the show and the canon. Btw these are sources I trust and who have given me correct info in the past. Some of y'all might have to put down your rose colored fan glasses and put on some clear ones.
Can we pause for a moment and question why it’s an issue to only reveal #Buffy at the end of the pilot? From the outset the idea was transitioning to a new Slayer with Buffy in a Giles/Watcher role. She’s the ace up this series’ sleeve so why not build up to a big reveal?
