Disney's update on the production of the Buffy reboot revealed its current status to be "on pause."
Excitement for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot began in 2018 when the project was first announced. Creator and original showrunner Joss Whedon returned to oversee its development as an executive producer while Monica Owusu-Breen would take creative charge of the intently more-inclusive reboot. The appointed producers hinted at its content in 2018: "Some aspects of the series could be seen as metaphors for issues facing us all today" (via Deadline). Since then, 20th Century Fox Television, the studio behind the project, became a subsidiary of Disney. There has been little news on the progress of the show in the subsequent years, until the disappointing second-hand statement that it's been shelved indefinitely.
The recent development of a Glee actress Heather Morrison was said to be up for the lead role. That attempt likely failed because it was proposed only seven years following the ending of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. There are now different factors at play for why Owusu-Breen's Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival for Disney is not happening, at least for now.
Why Disney Is Struggling To Reboot Buffy The Vampire Slayer
There are some hurdles Disney must overcome to successfully reboot Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One major issue is the allegations from original Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast against Joss Whedon. In 2021, Charisma Carpenter addressed how badly she was treated by Whedon while acting on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff series Angel. Since then, her Buffy co-workers and other stars who have worked with Whedon on DC and Marvel have come to her defense by recounting their own negative experiences with him. "Buffy was a toxic environment, and it starts at the top," claimed Amber Benson, who played Tara McClay. "There was a lot of damage done during that time and many of us are still processing it 20-plus years later."
Sarah Michelle Gellar shared on Instagram that same year that she does not want to be forever associated with Joss Whedon. Disney may also now be concerned about the argument that Whedon should not front a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival given his alleged history of abuse. Even if his name were to be detached from the reboot, the project would still always be associated with Whedon and the controversy. Though it is unclear why exactly Disney's Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot has been set aside and is struggling to get produced, one can assume Disney wants to avoid the backlash of bringing back a creator who is relatively blacklisted by Hollywood.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer's reboot is likely also having issues getting past the production stage due to Disney focusing on its bigger and more dependable brands. Disney+ has been particularly prolific in releasing new Star Wars, MCU, and Pixar shows. The studio may not want to extend their resources, including the already under pressure VFX departments, to a project they are not positive will succeed. VFX artists are under a lot of strain to produce more content than ever, as the backlash for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law's CGI has shown. Though a definitive statement has not been released by Disney about why the Buffy reboot is struggling to come to fruition, there is probably a financial angle behind why it has been stalled.
Will A Buffy The Vampire Slayer Reboot Actually Happen?
Unless the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer are locked away for good, the possibility of a reboot happening will always remain open. For the time being, the revival led by Monica Owusu-Breen is not going into production while the allegations against Joss Whedon are fresh on everyone's minds. Whether her development is picked back up in the future is uncertain, but the likelihood is higher that an eventual Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot would start over with new creatives. Reboots are incredibly profitable in this era of television, so if a continuation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer does actually happen, it will be soon.
A few original cast have shown interest in returning, and this might help production get greenlit again. Anthony Head even theorized how he could come back: “I wouldn’t know what as, because Giles has aged a little bit. Maybe I’m the head of the Watcher’s council now” (via Spider-Man movies. Seeing as a continuation is more likely than a reboot, however, Zendaya could also play a new slayer who is not Buffy.
A reboot instead of a sequel would be the wrong choice for the show's legacy. The show is itself a redo of 1992's Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, also created by Whedon. While profitable at the box office, it received mostly negative reviews and wasn't exactly a hit. The success of the Buffy TV series can be marked down to it being lightning in a bottle. The cast had great chemistry and the story fit a stereotypically upbeat yet grungy 1990s tone. If a new Buffy show does happen, it may follow new characters, as seemed likely with Owusu-Breen's reboot plans. Unfortunately, because of this, the potential exists for a revival to fall flat like the original film. Disney may not want to risk a critical failure in the vein of the original film's response which may be why the reboot won't actually happen, at least for a while.
Why A New Buffy Show Should Be A Sequel, Not A Reboot
Much of the cutting-edge Buffy the Vampire Slayer show's success comes from the show's brilliant cast. Stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Head, and David Boreanaz performed fantastically together and often elevated cheesy scripts into heartfelt drama. If the new Buffy show is a carbon copy reboot of the original, criticisms may dwell on comparing new and old portrayals of the characters. It could be slammed for its redundancy as well. On platforms where reboots and revivals are growing oversaturated, the most creative and profitable option would be to make a sequel series instead. It would draw in fans of the original alongside newcomers.
Osuwu-Breen's initial 2018 discussions on the new project imply that her Buffy reboot would have been a revival, like a legacy sequel, with new main characters. This would open up better opportunities for the future of Buffy and ensure the title's longevity as a property of Disney. For these reasons, the blueprints already laid out for the canceled Buffy revival should be kept in mind for when Disney either resumes production or sells the rights to another company.
A continuation rather than a reboot would also provide the opportunity to see where Buffy the Vampire Slayer's original characters have ended up since the explosive series finale. Fortunately, there is a way Buffy herself can be involved in a new slayer's story without relinquishing her slayer status. The new show can expand on Buffy's legacy indefinitely due to a single plot device. Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 7 revealed that many young girls in the world have the potential to gain the powers of a slayer. The comic series, which continues the show's narrative into season 8, follows Buffy Summers's story after Sunnydale's destruction. She mentors up-and-coming slayers similar to how she does in the final season of the Buffy show. A sequel to the series need not treat the comics as canon, but it can use them as a jumping-off point. Old characters could appear frequently if the continuation revolves around one of Buffy's students.
The sequel idea is doable considering many of the original actors would like to return. A reboot would simply reframe a familiar narrative while a sequel that expands the legacy of Buffy, particularly with its LGBTQ+ representation, can show the influence it has on newer generations. While the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot series s struggling to get produced, the groundwork is laid out for a successful future if and when Disney decides to greenlight it again.