Hulu has officially abandoned its planned sequel series to the late-90s television show, shelving “Buffy: New Sunnydale” before it reached screens. Original series star Sarah Michelle Gellar confirmed the cancellation on Saturday via a video posted to her Instagram account.
“I am really sad to have to share this, but I wanted you all to hear it from me,” Gellar stated in the video. “Unfortunately, Hulu has decided not to move forward with ‘Buffy: New Sunnydale’.”
The planned series was guided by Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao, who directed and served as an executive producer for the pilot episode. The script was penned by Lilla and Nora Zuckerman. The storyline positioned Gellar’s character, Buffy Summers, in a recurring mentor role. She was set to guide a younger vampire slayer named Nova, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
The ensemble cast for the now-canceled project also included Faly Rakotohavana, Ava Jean, Sarah Bock, and Daniel Di Tomasso. Gellar used her Saturday announcement to express gratitude toward Zhao for reinvigorating her connection to the franchise. She closed her video message by referencing classic dialogue from the original run, telling fans, “And I promise, if the apocalypse actually comes… you can still beep me.”
The cancellation adds another stalled project to the broader landscape of television entertainment, as previous attempts to revive the Sunnydale universe have failed to materialize. A reboot movie was discussed in the early 2010s, and a separate television iteration led by Monica Owusu-Breen stalled in 2018 prior to the casting phase.