BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Sequel Series Plot Details and Sarah Michelle Gellar Drops Training Video with New Slayer
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is making a comeback, and Sarah Michelle Gellar is sharpening her stakes.
The iconic slayer is stepping back into the world of Sunnydale, this time mentoring a brand-new Chosen One played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
Fans first met Armstrong in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and now she’s taking on a lead role in the upcoming Buffy sequel series, stepping into the shoes of a young slayer named Nova.
Thanks to a leaked logline, we’ve got some story details. Nova is described as “a 16-year-old bookworm” who discovers her destiny as a slayer in a newly rebuilt Sunnydale. The town is now split between gritty Old Sunnydale and the more upscale New Sunnydale.
Things kick off during “Vampire Weekend,” a local festival commemorating Sunnydale’s eerie past. That’s when the vampire duo Jack and Shirley rise from a construction site, murdering a teen and kicking off a ritual to unleash a vampire army at a place ominously dubbed the Cursed Circle.
How Buffy returns to the fold isn’t fully clear yet, but fans can expect her to show up once word of a new slayer spreads. Gellar recently dropped a behind-the-scenes training video on Instagram, teasing her physical prep with Armstrong to get into vampire-slaying mode.
In a previously shared heartfelt post, Gellar opened up about how the revival came together:
“So….. you might have heard some news this week, but I realize you haven’t heard from me. Three years ago, I got a call from my dear friend and mentor, Gail Berman. She told me that she wanted me to sit down with Chloé Zhao to hear her take on a potential 'Buffy' revival.
“I was blown away that Chloé even knew who I was, but, as I’ve always done, I told Gail that I just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again. We’d always been aligned on that, but this time I heard something different in her voice. I eventually agreed to go (mainly just to meet Chloé) and our twenty minute coffee quickly turned into a four hour adventure.
“We laughed, we cried, but mostly we both talked about how much this show means to us. While I didn’t agree to anything at that meeting, I did shock myself by agreeing to continue the conversation.
“These conversations did, in fact, continue over the next few years and eventually we added the incredible Nora and Lilla Zuckerman to our little tribe until ultimately, one day, we landed on an idea. I have always listened to the fans and heard your desire to revisit 'Buffy' and her world, but it was not something I could do unless I was sure we would get it right.
“This has been a long process, and it’s not over yet. I promise you, we will only make this show if we know we can do it right. And I will tell you that we are on the path there. I feel so lucky to be on this journey with these four unbelievably talented women, all of whom love 'Buffy' as much as I do. And as much as you do. Thank you to all the fans who never stopped asking for this. This will be for you.”
The sequel series is being developed by Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman, who will serve as writers, showrunners, and executive producers. Oscar-winning Eternals director Chloé Zhao is directing the pilot and executive producing through her Book of Shadows banner. Gellar is also on board as an executive producer alongside Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui, Kaz Kuzui, and Dolly Parton via Sandollar, Suite B, and 20th Television/Searchlight Television.
This isn’t the first time a Buffy reboot has been in development. An earlier version, which would’ve featured a Black lead and was being written by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Monica Owusu-Breen, was shelved last year. But this new take has real momentum behind it.
With Gellar back in action and a the new slayer in Nova, the next chapter of Buffy the Vampire Slayer could be something that fans will love!