Sarah Michelle Gellar Shares Good News About The ‘BtVS’ Reboot

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar has some good news for fans waiting for the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reboot.

Despite being initially hesitant about the project, Gellar is now happy to return to her titular role of Buffy Summers and may be reunited with Mr. Pointy faster than she anticipated.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, 47, is happy to let fans of the series know that progress on the reboot is speeding right along.

“We’ve set up our offices, which means things are progressing probably faster than I’d anticipated,” Gellar told Peoplemagazine earlier this week. However, she was quick to admit, “But it’s going to be a process, I think.”

“To do it the way it needs to be done, everyone has to be patient with all of us, because this isn’t something that [will just happen],” she added.

According to Deadline, who was the first to report the news, the new reboot will still feature Gellar in a supporting role as Buffy Summers. However, the main story will focus on a new slayer that has been awakened. The currently untitled project is nearing a pilot order at Hulu.

Four-time Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao is set to direct and executive produce the pilot and has previously expressed that she was a big fan of the original series. Nora and Lila Zuckerman are attached to write, executive produce, and serve as showrunners of the new reboot.

The original series’ executive producers – Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui, and Kaz Kuzui – will all return, and Gellar will receive an executive producing credit as well. Fans might be surprised to learn that legendary country singer Dolly Parton was also an uncredited producer on the original series through her production company, Sandollar Entertainment. She will also return for the reboot.

Although initially skeptical about returning to the project, Gellar couldn’t be more excited to work with the behind-the-scenes crew.

“I pinch myself every day when I get into these rooms, and I’m looking at Gail Berman, the Zuckermans and Chloé Zhao,” she said. “It’s an incredible group.”

“There was no world where I thought Chloé Zhao was going to call me and partner with me, and ask my advice on things and my opinion — especially because she hasn’t done television,” Gellar explained.

“She’ll call me, and she’ll say, ‘Well, I have to defer to you,’ and I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ Those aren’t words I ever thought I would hear,” she added, telling People magazine how “excited” she is about “the idea and the group behind” the reboot series.

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” defined a generation when it ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003. It was accompanied by a spinoff series, “Angel,” which ran from 1999 to 2004. Although it’s been off TV for two decades now, there are still longtime “Buffy” fans who are eager to see the return of the Scooby gang.

“As an actor, you just want to do work that stands the test of time, that people still enjoy, not just when it comes out, but years later, and it still is impactful for them,” Gellar told the publication.

“So the fact that this show is still so impactful to the people that watched it the first time along with me, to young kids today that are just discovering it and feel like it still speaks to them, being able to bring more people to her, it’s the greatest gift an actor could ever ask for. Truly,” she added.

Sadly, “Buffy” alum Michelle Trachtenberg passed away last month at the age of 39. Trachtenberg had played Dawn Summers, the younger sister to Buffy, and had worked quite closely with Gellar in the process.

Following her passing, Gellar modified a quote from the show’s fifth season and posted it on Instagram, writing, “Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you.”