It was way back in 2018 that we first learned about plans for a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot. Since then, we've heard a few positive updates, though initial reports suggesting that the show would have a Black lead were met with the expected (and sadly racist) backlash online.
Original series creator Joss Whedon (The Avengers) was said to be on board as an executive producer - good news, until reports about the filmmaker bullying actors and crew members emerged - while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. scribe Monica Owusu-Breen was attached to oversee the project.
Now, though, it appears this new take on Buffy has been scrapped.
Talking on The Hollywood Reporter's TV's Top 5 podcast (via FearHQ.com), executive producer Gail Berman confirmed that the reboot has been put "on pause." The series never had an official network home, but was said to be "contemporary, building on the mythology of the original."
While there had been chatter of a "Black Buffy," the expectation was that the show would focus on original characters. Owusu-Breen previously said that she "wouldn’t try to" replicate the "brilliant and beautiful [original] series." She'd add that, "The world seems a lot scarier [today]. So maybe it could be time to meet a new Slayer."
If we had to hazard a guess, the show would have been both sequel and reboot, with a new lead and some ties to the original show (cashing in on that nostalgia factor). However, as things stand, it won't be happening, and we have to believe that the controversies surrounding Whedon have been a major contributing factor. It's a franchise worth revisiting at some point, though.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered in 1997 on The WB and ran for seven seasons before jumping to UPN for its final two. There was also an Angel spinoff series, while stories set in Sunnydale have since continued in comic book form.
Are you disappointed that this new take on Buffy appears to have had a stake driven through its heart?