The actress says “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale” has been an “uphill battle” since “day one” of production.

Sarah Michelle Gellar criticizes Hulu’s decision to cancel Buffy reboot, alleges executive was ‘not a fan of the original’

The actress says "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale" has been an "uphill battle" since "day one" of production.

By Kathleen Perricone

March 16, 2026 9:14 p.m. ET

Sarah Michelle Gellar starred on 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' for seven seasons. Credit:

Hulu drove a stake through the hearts of *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* fans everywhere with the reboot’s cancelation — and no one was more gutted by the news than Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The actress got the call on Friday, just as she was about to take the stage at SXSW in Austin to promote her new movie, *Ready or Not 2: Here I Come*. “Hulu had decided not to move forward with the *Buffy* revival,” she recounted to PEOPLE exclusively. “Let me tell you, nobody saw this coming.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar at SXSW on March 13, 2026.

Gary Miller/FilmMagic

The weekend was also a big one for Chloé Zhao, who directed the pilot episode of *Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale*. At Sunday’s Academy Awards, her film *Hamnet* was up for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Zhao.

So the timing of the *Buffy* cancelation could not have been worse, says Gellar.

“For them to call us on the Friday of what should have been Chloé’s victory lap for an incredible film, and my world premiere of something that I worked very hard for is… That says something,” she told PEOPLE.

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Furthermore, Gellar alleged there is one person who seemed intent on leaving *Buffy* in the past. “We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn’t for him.”

That disinterest, adds Gellar, was “very hard” not only for her but also Zhao. “So that tells you the uphill battle that we had been fighting since day one, when your executive is literally proud to tell you that he didn't watch it.”

Gellar, 48, starred as Buffy Summers for seven seasons, during which the series aired on The WB and UPN, until 2003.

'Buffy' also starred David Boreanaz, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, and Charisma Carpenter.

“I’ve been asked since the day I left to return to Sunnydale,” she says two decades later. But it wasn’t something she wanted to do, until she connected with Zhao.

“Four years ago, Chloé, the witch that she is — and I say that as a good thing — comes into my life,” Gellar continued. “In one meeting, she makes me say ‘yes’ to something I never saw on my radar. That was because of the deep love and commitment and passion she had for this character. It was like I was stepping back in time.”

In February 2025, Hulu announced *Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale *with Gellar reprising the titular role and Oscar-winning Zhao as director and executive producer. The two filmed a pilot episode, which would have introduced a new slayer to the fandom, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong.

“When I was on set, it was craziness. It was like, ‘Oh, we’re here. We’re doing this,’” gushed Gellar. “I loved the duality that we had this new, younger slayer who was where Buffy was when the show started, and then we would pick up with where Buffy was now.”

Chloé Zhao at the Academy Awards on March 15, 2026.

Mike Coppola/Getty

But it may not be the final nail in the coffin for *Buffy*.

“Things happen for a reason,” Zhao mused to CNN and *Variety* at the Academy Awards, “and we keep our hearts open and we welcome the mystery. And what this might lead us to.”

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A Hulu source echoed the sentiment, telling *Variety* there is a “lot of love” for *Buffy*. “Basically, the door is still open.”

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Source: “EW Sci-Fi”