There are only a few TV shows more 90s than “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar because the titular Slayer. Though there have been a number of different Slayers that were woke up during her tenure, Buffy Summers is taken into account the Slayer, and that’s unlikely to alter any time soon. Despite various attempts to reboot the series over time, “Buffy” has one big problem: finding its audience.
Why The ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Reboot Was Seemingly Cancelled
At this time limit, it’s unclear why the reboot, which might have starred “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” alum Ryan Kiera Armstrong as the brand new Slayer, was scrapped. Although financial concerns most actually played a job, Sarah Michelle Gellar looked as if it would point the finger at one person during a strongly worded interview with PEOPLE magazine.
“We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the unique, but was proud to consistently remind us that he had never seen the whole lot of the series and the way it wasn’t for him,” she said.
“That’s very hard whenever you’re taking a property that’s as beloved as Buffy, not only to the world, but to me and Chloé,” she added. “In order that tells you the uphill battle that we had been fighting since day one, when your executive is literally proud to let you know that he didn’t watch it.”
So Who Was The ‘Buffy’ Reboot Really For?
Although Deadline sources appear to point to that executive being Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich, who oversees Hulu original series, it does raise the query of who the show was alleged to be for. Was Armstrong alleged to be a brand new Slayer for a brand new legion of teenage fans? Or was Gellar alleged to be nostalgia bait for an older audience?
“I loved the duality that we had with this latest, younger slayer who was where Buffy was when the show began, after which we’d pick up with where Buffy was now,” Gellar told the publication concerning the plot, hinting that it might have had something for everybody, which suggests that there was a considerable risk of alienating some viewers who won’t have been satisfied with that form of passive approach.
The reboot appears to have been caught between positioning Armstrong because the face of a brand new group of fans while still leaning on Gellar as a tether to the past. This risks satisfying neither audience, leaving the series stuck in a limbo which may find yourself letting everyone down. Either the reboot is a nostalgia-grab powered by Gellar’s iconic status or a daring reimagining aimed toward a more recent audience, but it may possibly’t be each.
Concerns About The Reboot Being Too ‘Small’
Sources told Deadline that there have been various concerns concerning the production, including that the scope of the project might need been too “small” to attain what they hoped to perform. Nonetheless, those goals remain unclear, as audiences haven’t been given a concrete reason as to why the production was suddenly shut down.
There have been also, apparently, some concerns about Armstrong’s age. She was only 15 when she was solid. Compare that to Gellar, who was 18 when “Buffy” first began production. Nonetheless, Armstrong is hardly a brand new actor and has already amassed extensive experience in film and tv, so it’s unlikely that her age played a significant role within the show’s cancellation.
While some insiders said that the pilot was “not perfect” and “not great,” a brand new rewrite addressing the feedback was apparently “more adult” and featured lots more of the OG Slayer. Unfortunately, plainly it was not enough to persuade the one executive that Gellar singled out.
There Are Plans To Make One other ‘Buffy’ Down The Line
Deadline reported that there’s hope that one other show will emerge within the “Buffy” universe somewhere in “the subsequent couple of years,” but for Armstrong, it looks like her likelihood at a career-defining role has come and gone.
Many fans have taken to social media in an effort to voice their frustration. A big a part of fan ire stems from the unique “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” itself. The show’s pilot episode and first season weren’t particularly well-received, however the show improved over time because it found its footing. Cancelling the reboot after just one episode could have robbed it of the identical opportunity.
‘Buffy’ Fans Are Expressing Their Frustration
Many fans have taken to social media in an effort to express their frustration over the reboot’s cancellation. One fan compared it to Netflix’s “Cobra Kai,” writing, “I feel Hulu dropped the ball here. Reboots/Remakes draw lots of attention to streaming services. Have a look at what Cobra Kai did. It became considered one of the largest shows on Netflix. It brought in old fans and latest fans. Wasn’t an ideal show, but fans of Karate Kid and latest fans loved it.”
“That is a completely bonkers call to alienate an Oscar winner AND the one name the show absolutely can’t go on without as a primary move under a restructuring Disney empire. It’s not too late to fireplace Erwich for incredibly bad judgment,” one other fan wrote, adding, “This deserved a shot even when it needed more work.”
A 3rd user identified how hard it was to get Sarah Michelle Gellar on board with even this version of a reboot, and noted that she was unlikely to come back back in the long run. “Well, whatever they do with the IP now, they’ll never get Gellar involved again,” they wrote. “That’s one seriously burnt bridge.”
Overall, any reboot is unlikely to occur for 2 fundamental reasons. For one, it’s unlikely that Gellar goes to get her hopes up with one other “Buffy” project, only to observe it get axed again. Secondly, it seems that execs still haven’t decided who precisely the reboot is alleged to be for. Either it’s nostalgia bait or a daring reimagining, but it may possibly’t be each. And, until they determine what audience they wish to appeal to, it looks like “Buffy” goes to remain stuck in purgatory.