Buffy to return from the dead via Fox

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for seven seasons

Supernatural drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer is being lined up for a reboot more than 15 years after it came to an end, with a more diverse cast set to feature in the new version.

The Sarah Michelle Gellar-starring series ran on The WB in the US from 1997 until 2001, when it moved to UPN. It was created by Joss Whedon, and the remake is being developed by the same firm that was behind the original, 21st Century Fox’s Fox 21 TV Studios,

Monica Owusu-Breen (Midnight, Texas) is attached as showrunner on the reboot and will also write and exec produce along with Whedon. Also on board are Gail Berman, Fran Kazui and Kaz Kazui from the original, as well as Joe Earley from Fox and Berman’s label Jackal Group.

No broadcaster or streamer is attached to the reboot as yet, but producers have said it will be contemporary and will expand on the original show’s premise. “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,” they said.

US reports have suggested the reboot will feature an African-American lead, although sources pointed out the project is currently without a script and many details could change.

Whedon adapted the TV show from the eponymous movie, which he also wrote, while the original also spawned spin-off series Angel, which aired on The WB.

It’s the latest TV series to get a reboot, following the likes of Roswell (The CW) and Magnum (CBS). Fox has previously revived shows such as 24, Prison Break and The X-Files.