James Marsters Was Crushing “Thousands of Sit-Ups” to Return as Spike Before BUFFY Revival Fell Apart
Few shows have held onto fans the way Buffy the Vampire Slayer has. Decades after its 2003 finale, the supernatural teen drama still lives rent-free in pop culture, with fans constantly hoping for a return to Sunnydale.
That hope recently spiked when Hulu ordered a revival titled Buffy The Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale. Then just as quickly, it vanished.
What makes the whole situation even more wild is how seriously James Marsters was taking the idea of stepping back into Spike’s boots. He revealed during a Streamily appearance that he wasn’t just casually thinking about returning. He was physically gearing up for it in a big way. The actor shared:
"I had heard that they were planning on having Spike come back, and I was getting ready for that. I was doing so many thousands of sit ups to get ready for that. And it doesn't look like this iteration is happening.
Spike became one of the most iconic characters in the Buffy series, evolving from villain to fan-favorite antihero. For a lot of fans in the ‘90s, he left a lasting impression thanks to that bleach-blond swagger and, apparently… his abs.
The excitement around the revival had real momentum for a minute. When Sarah Michelle Gellar first announced the project, fans went into full hype mode. A pilot presentation led to a full series order, which made it feel like this thing was actually happening. Then Hulu reversed course and pulled the plug.
Still, Marsters isn’t completely shutting the door on a return to the Buffyverse. He mentioned that conversations and possibilities are still floating around:
"I am reading articles like many of you are and I did hear that Sarah is open to doing Buffy in another iteration possibly. I don't know, I haven't talked to her about it. And I also heard Disney is open to having another iteration."
The franchise still has life in it, and the demand clearly hasn’t gone anywhere. Whether anything actually happens now after the reboot was scrapped is anyone’s guess.
Marsters added one more thought that pretty much sums up where things stand:
"So there's still hope that there may be a reboot in the future, but maybe not as soon as we were all hoping"
The rise and fall of New Sunnydale hit fans hard. Getting a full series order only to see it scrapped shortly after felt like a gut punch. But, maybe this franchise won’t stay buried for long.
For now, fans can revisit all seven seasons of Buffy and its spinoff Angel, both streaming on Hulu, and even catch Marsters reprising Spike in Slayers: A Buffyverse Story on Audible.