A BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Fan Creates an Awesome Animated "What If...?" Spin-Off
While a live-action continuation of Buffy The Vampire Slayer is on the way, one creative fan decided to ask, what if Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an animted series that explored alternate timelines, unexpected team-ups, and reality-hopping chaos?
The result is a slick fan-made project that honestly feels like something fans would line up to watch. Animator Trevor Carlee recently shared a trailer on Instagram for his Buffy the Vampire Slayer What If…? series, fully animated in Blender.
The short but energetic trailer throws Buffy into a multiverse-style adventure packed with familiar faces and wild scenarios. Seeing Buffy fighting alongside Faith and Kendra as a full-on Slayer trio is the kind of idea fans have been throwing around for years, and it looks every bit as cool as you’d hope.
The footage also sneaks in appearances from Xander, Willow, Angel, and others, all caught up in fast-moving, reality-bending mayhem.
Carlee explained where the idea came from in the caption that accompanied the trailer, writing:
“My cohost, Kristin, and I often talk about possible alternate storylines on Another Buffy Podcast, so we started writing them down over the past couple years as fun episode ideas in a potential Buffy What If series.
“And I decided to animate a trailer for what that could look like! Would YOU be down for a Buffy What If series? No AI – All animated by me in Blender (Disclaimer: This is not official, just a fun animation I made. But it’d be neat if it became official ).”
It’s hard not to wish this were an actual project, especially with how much momentum the franchise has picked up lately. Outside of the BOOM! Studios comics, Buffy had been relatively quiet for a while, but that dry spell is clearly over. Between TV and comics, the next year looks like a big one for the Slayer.
The most anticipated project on the horizon is the live-action continuation Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale. The series brings back Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers and has Chloe Zhao directing the pilot.
The story follows Buffy as she trains a new Slayer named Nova, and Gellar has made it clear this isn’t a reboot hitting the reset button.
“It’s not a sequel, it’s not a reboot. It’s a continuation. Because it’s where is she now in this world, and what is this world that Buffy lives in with her and without her. It’s not a reboot, it’s not picking up with all of the same characters right away… That’s why the name was even important to me, in Buffy: New Sunnydale. It’s Buffy, but it’s also something else,” Gellar told the Shut Up Evan Podcast.
The comics side of the franchise is also entering a new era. Last year, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel officially moved over to Dynamite Entertainment, with brand-new series in development. Acclaimed writer Kelly Thompson is handling both titles, which will connect and build off each other in a shared storyline.
There are still no release dates for the Hulu series or the new Dynamite comics, but between official projects and fan creations like Carlee’s animated What If trailer, it’s a great time to be a Buffy fan!