Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot in works at Hulu with original star Sarah Michelle Gellar set to return

Sarah Michelle Gellar led the first Buffy the Vampire Slayer series

Disney-owned streamer Hulu is developing a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the popular Sarah Michelle Gellar-led supernatural drama that aired for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003, according to multiple US reports.

The reboot comes from Disney’s 20th Television, with Poker Face writers Nora and Lilla Zuckerman penning the pilot and Chloé Zhao attached to direct.

Gellar, who became a household name while playing Buffy Summers in the original show, is expected to reprise her role in the reboot, which reports have described as the “next chapter in the Buffyverse.”

However, she would appear in a recurring rather than a starring role, as the series is set to focus on a new lead character.

If the sequel gets the green light, it would mark the third official instalment in the Buffy universe following the original series and spin-off Angel, which aired for five seasons starting in 1999.

The project is executive produced by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, Zhao, Gellar, Gail Berman, Suite B’s Fran and Kaz Kuzui, and Dolly Parton through her production banner Sandollar.

The original version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted in March 1997 on US network The WB, where it aired for five seasons before moving to UPN for two more seasons, concluding in May 2003.

It was created by Joss Whedon, who also wrote the 1992 film of the same name upon which the series is based. In 2021, Whedon was accused by multiple people of fostering toxic sets on both Buffy and Angel and he has largely disappeared from industry view in the time since. He is not part of the new series, according to reports.