Over the weekend that had just ended, Sarah Michelle Gellar had posted a video on her Instagram profile in which she announced the decision made by Hulu not to go ahead with the Buffy reboot, thanking director Chloé Zhao who, like her, had embarked on this project and all the fans who had always been so fond of her character as much as of her person.
Now, in an exclusive interview with People, the actress has decided to explain in more detail what happened, revealing that the official announcement would be given to her at the premiere of her new film Ready or Not 2: Here I Come held at the SXSW Film & TV Festival.
“I was about to go on stage in front of all the fans,” Gellar recalls, “Hulu had decided not to go ahead with the Buffy revival. Let me tell you, no one saw that coming.” For several years, in fact, Gellar and Zhao would try to work on a revival of the series for Hulu and Searchlight Television. “From the day I left Sunnydale, they asked me to come back,” the actress continues, “And it had never crossed my mind that I would accept. Then, four years ago, Chloé, the witch that she is-and I mean that in a good way-came into my life. In one meeting, she convinced me to say yes to something I would never have considered. This was because of the deep love, dedication and passion she had for this character. It was like stepping back in time.”
The actress and director would even shoot a pilot episode ahead of the show’s possible full reboot, “I got the call the very weekend that Chloé was going to the Oscars as a Best Director nominee for Hamnet. The fact that we got the call on the Friday of what was supposed to be Chloé’s lap of honor for an incredible film, and the world premiere of something I’ve worked so hard for…says a lot.”
“We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the original,” he then adds, hinting at some of the possible reasons behind the project’s cancellation, “but he was constantly bragging about how he had never seen the series in its entirety and how it wasn’t for him.”
“It’s really difficult when it comes to a franchise as beloved as Buffy, not only around the world, but also by me and Chloé. This makes you understand the hard battle we had to face from day one. The fans, they were the only reason we were going to do this show.”
“Chloé and I feel the same way. Disappointment. We don’t want to disappoint the fans,” the actress then concludes, “It hurts. We are saddened by how and when the situation was handled. But I told Chloé, and I was very specific, ‘Sunday night, wear that crown, walk the red carpet, enjoy all the affection for what you worked for and forget the rest.’ It is important to me that this does not detract from what we have achieved and what she has achieved. And there is always so much more to do.”
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