Buffy Reboot.
Jun. 27th, 2025 09:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatMore news on the Buffy Reboot, per Vanity Fair Interview with Gellar at a Film Festival in Italy (Seriously that actress is living the life of a multi-millionaire - I personally think they pay television actors far too much.)
"Gellar was convinced to step back into the vampire slayer’s shoes by Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao, whose pitch forms the basis of the show. “For so many years, I said no to a possible return of the series,” she said. “I didn’t want to reintroduce something we had already seen. I waited for the right time to come. Then Chloé, a big Buffy fan, proposed the project to me, and I accepted. The gestation was long. It’s been three years, and we’re still working on it.” But soon filming will begin.
The star, who will be joined in the series by young actor Ryan Kiera Armstrong, revealed some details about the series as well: “It will be lighter than the last few seasons of the original. We will try to find a balance between new and old characters. My dream is to bring back everyone who has died, but space will have to be made for new stories as well.”
“One of the surprising aspects of Buffy is that it’s always been a crossover series,” Gellar added. “We’re trying to figure out how to modernize the themes of the series, especially what it means to feel like an outsider in a world dominated by social media. What we want to explore are the space-time boundaries that affect society today.”
[It was a short interview.]
From what I've been seeing from Instagram (I follow various Buffy actors), and who has reached out to Gellar, and is still friends and in contact with her - not to mention the actors seen going to fan conventions recently [no, I've never been to a fan convention - I don't do conventions - rather have a colonoscopy to be honest], together, my guess is that we will most likely see the return of the following:
Spike (Marsters is more than open to it and close with Gellar), Cordelia (Chase has a Cordelia podcast, where she watches shows as Cordelia more or less), Oz (Green has been going to Buffy conventions again), Darla, Drusilla (Landau has a rewatch Buffy podcast), Tara, Joyce, Wesley Wyndam-Price (Denisof is available and I'm certain Hannigan pitched it to Gellar), and possibly Angel (Boreanze did state on social media he would not be opposed to revisiting the character and has been attending conventions again) and Willow (Hannigan has been doing a charity thing with Gellar). It's unlikely Giles will return, but possible. I know Chase, Benze, and Landau reached out. And Gellar is suddenly openly friends with Hannigan again. Also Marsters has been losing weight, looks great, and keeps alluding to it.
Who I do not think will reappear is Xander (Brendan is persona non gratis at fan conventions (he was barred), and no one is in connection with him or wants to be, also the character did not age well, new viewers don't like him at all - basically he was cancelled just like Joss Whedon was, but for different and more severe reasons (which you, trust me, really don't want to know about - I wish I didn't - it makes it hard to watch Xander now) ), Warren (he'll stay dead), Dawn (they won't recast - if Trachenberg had lived - she'd be in it, definitely but not now, which is tragic), not sure about Jenny Calendar. Doubt we'll see anyone but Angel, Spike, Wes, and Cordy from the Angel show. Also she wants to make room for new characters.
While that's great? I've mixed feelings. Lighter tone - not sure about, Buffy worked well with a combination of light and dark, and slanting towards humorous horror.
But, she's probably right to swing away from some of the darker content in the series.
I have a feeling it may be more episodic in nature and less serial, which the series kind of became in later seasons.
"Gellar was convinced to step back into the vampire slayer’s shoes by Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao, whose pitch forms the basis of the show. “For so many years, I said no to a possible return of the series,” she said. “I didn’t want to reintroduce something we had already seen. I waited for the right time to come. Then Chloé, a big Buffy fan, proposed the project to me, and I accepted. The gestation was long. It’s been three years, and we’re still working on it.” But soon filming will begin.
The star, who will be joined in the series by young actor Ryan Kiera Armstrong, revealed some details about the series as well: “It will be lighter than the last few seasons of the original. We will try to find a balance between new and old characters. My dream is to bring back everyone who has died, but space will have to be made for new stories as well.”
“One of the surprising aspects of Buffy is that it’s always been a crossover series,” Gellar added. “We’re trying to figure out how to modernize the themes of the series, especially what it means to feel like an outsider in a world dominated by social media. What we want to explore are the space-time boundaries that affect society today.”
[It was a short interview.]
From what I've been seeing from Instagram (I follow various Buffy actors), and who has reached out to Gellar, and is still friends and in contact with her - not to mention the actors seen going to fan conventions recently [no, I've never been to a fan convention - I don't do conventions - rather have a colonoscopy to be honest], together, my guess is that we will most likely see the return of the following:
Spike (Marsters is more than open to it and close with Gellar), Cordelia (Chase has a Cordelia podcast, where she watches shows as Cordelia more or less), Oz (Green has been going to Buffy conventions again), Darla, Drusilla (Landau has a rewatch Buffy podcast), Tara, Joyce, Wesley Wyndam-Price (Denisof is available and I'm certain Hannigan pitched it to Gellar), and possibly Angel (Boreanze did state on social media he would not be opposed to revisiting the character and has been attending conventions again) and Willow (Hannigan has been doing a charity thing with Gellar). It's unlikely Giles will return, but possible. I know Chase, Benze, and Landau reached out. And Gellar is suddenly openly friends with Hannigan again. Also Marsters has been losing weight, looks great, and keeps alluding to it.
Who I do not think will reappear is Xander (Brendan is persona non gratis at fan conventions (he was barred), and no one is in connection with him or wants to be, also the character did not age well, new viewers don't like him at all - basically he was cancelled just like Joss Whedon was, but for different and more severe reasons (which you, trust me, really don't want to know about - I wish I didn't - it makes it hard to watch Xander now) ), Warren (he'll stay dead), Dawn (they won't recast - if Trachenberg had lived - she'd be in it, definitely but not now, which is tragic), not sure about Jenny Calendar. Doubt we'll see anyone but Angel, Spike, Wes, and Cordy from the Angel show. Also she wants to make room for new characters.
While that's great? I've mixed feelings. Lighter tone - not sure about, Buffy worked well with a combination of light and dark, and slanting towards humorous horror.
But, she's probably right to swing away from some of the darker content in the series.
I have a feeling it may be more episodic in nature and less serial, which the series kind of became in later seasons.
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Date: 2025-06-28 06:51 am (UTC)I'll be very interested to see the new series, I admit.
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Date: 2025-06-28 07:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-06-28 01:23 pm (UTC)It's why the one Joss was producing a while back failed. Also any that were done that way in comics - failed.
No, it's better to do a kind of continuation, and a new take on it - which is a reboot/continuation.
Gellar has made it clear she doesn't want to redo it - it was already done well, and there's no need to do it again, they need to do something different. And apparently she was pitched an idea that got her excited enough to spearhead it. And she's probably the only one from the old show who could do that - many fans will only watch a Buffy series that contains Sarah and is spearheaded by her. They didn't care about Whedon as much as Sarah even before Whedon came out to be...well. Also, Gellar has good relationships with the cast, and apparently a lot of people in Television.
I'm curious to see what Chloe Zhan (Nomadland and the Eternals) and the Pokerface female writing team came up with? It is interesting that the new series is almost entirely produced and run by women. The old one was mostly male. And Gellar is hunting for inclusivity.
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Date: 2025-06-28 12:28 pm (UTC)As for her lifestyle, that doesn't surprise me. She and Freddie both made lots of money between roughly 1995-2005, plus Freddie may have inherited money from his father.
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Date: 2025-06-28 01:03 pm (UTC)I know that its a feeding frenzy regarding the number of television writers who want to be a part of it in Hollywood - a lot of them are huge Buffy fans.
But - you are right about Disney. Except, Disney can go dark - see Skeleton Crew, and some of their other offerings.
I am admittedly skeptical - Gellar isn't the best at picking good properties, and I'm not sure she understands what works and what doesn't. She's involved with another one that's in pre-production as well.
Gellar and Prince are still making lots of money - they are still working, and she recently sold her FoodStirs business, and is doing a lot of promotional ads - such as being the paid spokesperson for a Travel App, which came with free transportation.
Gellar is excellent at self-promotion. You should see her Instagram Page. It's filled to the brim with selfies. I keep following and unfollowing - because selfies annoy me. But actors seem to feel they have to post them incessantly for some reason.
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Date: 2025-06-28 04:05 pm (UTC)No thanks on seeing her Instagram page. :) I avoid social media like the plague. But I don't doubt that she's good at promotion and monetizing that as well. We should all be so fortunate.
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Date: 2025-06-29 02:12 am (UTC)A couple of take-aways?
Marsters: I can't talk about it. If I say anything it will take away the excitement. It's a bit like telling you about a cake, before it is baked, and iced and the candles are on top - you want to show the whole thing. And I don't believe in spoiling the cake.
Devine: So where are they in the process of baking the cake? Are they at the baking stage? The mixing stage? Or the cake mix stage?
Marsters: More like searching the shelves to see which cake mixes to use.
Devine: Ah ha -
Marsters: Stop it. I know nothing. It's like previously, I'm just an actor - I don't know anything yet.
Devine: So you are involved?
Marsters: I can't say one way or the other, you'll have to wait and see. I am not talking about it. A question please.
Devine's son Jack: So vampires can age right? You can do that -
Marsters: First of all vampires do not age - that's the whole point. Otherwise we'd be ghouls, which nobody likes. So no. And second - nice try, you are trying to trick me into saying something about this and I've already said I can't. Jason save me - next question?
Devine: You can't talk about anything in production right - or hasn't gotten there yet?
Marsters: Yes, I mean no, I can't and there's nothing to discuss - and dammit, Jason! (Jason is the facilitator who gives them questions from fans to discuss)
LOL!
He's definitely involved. I just don't know how. But when Whedon was doing his reboot of Buffy, they'd ask Marsters, Gellar, et all about it, and they all said - "eh, yes, sounds great, we aren't involved in any way, Joss didn't approach any of us, and I honestly don't see how we could be - we've aged." Now, it's, "it's wonderful, trust us, but we can't talk about it, no, can't say a word, but it's going to be amazing."
I find actors amusing.
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If this was ten years ago - I'd worry that Gellar was going for a Bangle reunion, but Marsters has said repeatedly now that Spike/Buffy end up together, and is no longer negative on the coupling, and neither is Gellar. Also, David has been less positive about it, and has told fans that he doesn't really believe in revisiting old parts or roles? And would rather move on to the next role.
I think David Boreanze is too expensive. Also he's nowhere near as pretty as he once was. And has definitely aged.
But it's still up in the air, where they'll go.
I honestly don't know. It's an interesting team up? Gellar, Sandy Gallin, Gail Berman, the Kuzuis, Chloe Zahan, and the headwriters from S1 of Poker Face. Not sure who else is involved. The new slayer appears to be a 15 year old - lead actress from Skeleton Crew (who was admittedly among the best things in Skeleton Crew, outside of Jude Law).
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Yeah, I'm on Instagram to post photos and art mostly, and interact with niece and sisterinlaw, I follow a lot of actors and celebs here and there for news items, then stop because they are incredibly annoying and spam ads about themselves and their projects constantly. Actors - ugh.