The upcoming reboot/legacy sequel series to Buffy the Vampire Slayer has found its Chosen One. According to Variety, the new series lead is Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who recently starred in the Disney+ Star Wars series, Skeleton Crew. She was also the lead in the Firestarter remake. Sarah Michelle Gellar returns as Buffy Summers, who will serve as a mentor to the new teen Slayer that Armstrong will play. Gellar was the one to tell the young actress that she got the job. SMG posted the video of her giving RKA the big, career-changing news on Instagram.
In her post, Sarah Michelle Gellar said “From the moment I saw Ryan’s audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side. To have that kind of emotional intelligence, and talent, at such a young age is truly gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room.”
One very interesting thing that Gellar said in the emotional video to her new co-star was “Welcome to New Sunnydale.” That right there is a pretty big spoiler for the new show’s premise. At the end of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, the entire town of Sunnydale, built over a Hellmouth and home base for Buffy and friends, is destroyed. But it looks like in the nearly 25 years since that fateful day, a new town now exists in that valuable California real estate.
The question remains, however. If Ryan Kiera Armstrong is the lead character, will the show still have the title Buffy the Vampire Slayer? She may be a slayer someone names after Buffy. But then we’d have “Buffy #1” and “Buffy #2,” and that might get tiresome. Rumors persist that Buffy has changed her name to Anne in this series. This is something she once did in the original show when she ran away from home. That might make things easier. The new Buffy reboot has Poker Face’s Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman as showrunners and executive producers. Chloé Zhao will direct the pilot for Hulu. There’s no release date yet. But if cameras start rolling this year, we might see the series in 2026. Or perhaps in 2027, the original show’s 30th anniversary.
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