‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Reboot Officially In The Works With Joss Whedon, Monica Owusu-Breen

The long-awaited Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot is officially a go, and it will be under Joss Whedon’s watch. Original Buffy producer 20th Century Fox Television will develop a new take on the fan favorite Sarah Michelle Gellar vampire drama, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Agents of Shield writer Monica Owusu-Breen has been hired to pen the Buffy reboot and will also serve as showrunner, while Whedon, who will take on an executive producer role for the pilot, will also help write the script. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s iconic role reportedly will be played by a still-unnamed black lead actress in the potential series, which has not yet secured a network. The Buffy revival will reportedly be pitched to streaming and cable outlets later this summer.

Deadline reports the Buffy revival series will be contemporary and “build on the mythology of the original.” The producers added, “Like our world, it will be richly diverse, and like the original, some aspects of the series could be seen as metaphors for issues facing us all today.”

Sources told Deadline the show’s description reflects the producers’ plans for the new vampire slayer to be an African American female but reiterated that the project is still in the early stages and many details are not finalized.

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ TV Reboot in Development From Joss Whedon, Monica Owusu-Breen https://t.co/bFUTyVyrDp

— Variety (@Variety) July 20, 2018

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was based on Joss Whedon’s 1992 feature film of the same name. The fantasy drama series ran for seven seasons on The WB Network and UPN, ending in 2003. The cult hit spawned an ongoing comic book after its run as well as the spinoff series Angel, which starred David Boreanaz.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon previously told The Hollywood Reporter that while he didn’t want to rule out a Buffy reboot or reunion, he did have some hesitation about unearthing the series.

“I see a little bit of what I call monkey’s paw in these reboots,” Whedon told THR last year. “You bring something back, and even if it’s exactly as good as it was, the experience can’t be. You’ve already experienced it, and part of what was great was going through it for the first time.”

Whedon praised the still-youthful looks of his original cast, adding, “Luckily most of my actors still look wonderful, but I’m not worried about them being creaky. I’m more worried about me being creaky as a storyteller. You don’t want that feeling that you should have left before the encore.”