‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Showrunner Addresses Reboot Backlash, Teases ‘New Slayer’
Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans can rest easy. On the heels of the announcement of a planned reboot of the beloved 1990s fantasy TV series, new showrunner Monica Owusu-Breen (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) said she has no plan to try to replace Sarah Michelle Gellar’s iconic character. Owusu-Breen took to Twitter to calm irate Buffy diehards down, assuring all, “There is only one Buffy.”
The new showrunner went on to say she watched the original characters grow over seven seasons during the show’s original run and that she fully understands that Joss Whedon’s classic series “can’t be replicated.” But she also went on to remind fans that it has been 20 years since Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired and the world is “a lot scarier” now.
“So maybe, it could be time to meet a new Slayer.”
Owusu-Breen’s post comes amid a bit of backlash over the new series from fans who were satisfied with the series finale and feel the show should stay dead. At one point, even Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Whedon admitted it was risky to unearth his cult-favorite series.
“I see a little bit of what I call monkey’s paw in these reboots,” Whedon told the Hollywood Reporter 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.”
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ TV Reboot in Development From Joss Whedon, Monica Owusu-Breen https://t.co/bFUTyVyrDp
— Variety (@Variety) July 20, 2018
Now, Whedon will executive produce the new version of the story, while Owusu-Breen will write the pilot. While the cast for the Buffy reboot has not yet been announced, there are plans to hire an African-American actress for the new leading role, Variety reports. No network is attached to the Buffy revival, but the show will reportedly be pitched to streaming and cable outlets later this summer.
According to Deadline, the modern day Buffy revival series will “build on the mythology of the original.” Producers say the show will “be richly diverse, and like the original, some aspects of the series could be seen as metaphors for issues facing us all today.”
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is based on Whedon’s 1992 feature film of the same name, which starred Kristy Swanson. The fantasy drama series, which ran for seven seasons on the WB Network and UPN, ended in 2003 and spawned the spinoff series, Angel.
In addition to Gellar, the original Buffy The Vampire Slayer starred Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield Ford, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Head, James Marsters, and David Boreanaz.
You can see Monica Owusu-Breen’s full tweet about the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot below.
— monicaowusubreen (@monicabreen) July 26, 2018
