Sarah Michelle Gellar is out and Black girl magic is in!
The late-90s classic tv series ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ is getting a reboot — this time a Black actress is taking the lead role.
via THR:
20th Century Fox Television, who produced the original Joss Whedon drama, have put a new take on the beloved Sarah Michelle Gellar drama in development. Writer Monica reen, who worked with Whedon on ABC’s Agents of SHIELD, has been hired to pen the adaptation.
Whedon will be an exec producer on the series and has been working with Breen on the script, which features a black actress stepping into the role of Buffy made famous by Gellar.
Gail Berman, Joe Earley, Fran Kazui and Kaz Kazui (who produced Whedon’s original Buffy film that inspired the TV series) will also serve as exec producers on the potential series. A network is not yet attached for the new Buffy, talks for which began last fall. Producers Fox 21 TV Studios will pitch the Buffy re-do to streaming and cable outlets later this summer in a package bound to ignite a bidding war. It’s unclear if Whedon will have any additional role on the new Buffy due to his other commitments, which include HBO’s recent straight-to-series order The Nevers.
Talks for a new Buffy began last fall. A decision to move forward was determined after Breen was identified as the right writer for the reboot. A script or director has not yet been determined. Casting for the central role of Buffy has also not yet been determined. The new version, sources say, will be contemporary and build on the mythology of the original. Like today’s world, the new Buffy will be richly diverse, with some aspects of the series, like the flagship, seen as metaphors for issues facing society today.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for seven seasons on The WB Network (which evolved to become The CW) and UPN. The series continued in comic book form after completing its run in 2003. Buffy was based on the feature film of the same name that starred Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry that was originally penned by Whedon.
The cult favorite series became a breakout and helped turn Whedon into a household name, while also launching the careers of the series’ stars (including David Boreanaz and Alyson Hannigan) and writers (including Jane Espenson and Marti Noxon). Buffy ranks as one of the greatest TV series of all time and has been hailed for the way in which Whedon and the writers challenged gender norms and portrayed Buffy (Gellar) as a feminist hero.
Who can you see taking on the Buffy role?
