Sarah Michelle Gellar broke the news that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot had been killed at Hulu and would not go to series.
After the streamer put a stake through the heart of many die-hard fans longing to see Gellar reprise her role of Buffy Summers, many are hoping the pilot, directed by Chloé Zhao, would leak somewhere. However, Gellar doesn’t think that’s a good idea as it would be a disservice to fans.
“I actually hope it doesn’t because then everyone’s going to have an opinion on this and that, and pilots are not finished,” Gellar said on SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio. “It wasn’t done. It’s not like we did a season, finished it, and then they shelved it. It’s not like when they made Batgirl the movie and then didn’t show it. That movie was finished.”
Gellar clarified that they “made a pilot on purpose because there’s some new characters and you want to see how it goes. And there’s things you learn from it, and there’s things you fix.”
“Usually, a pilot doesn’t air in its entirety ever. And so you use that information to then, it’s a learning tool,” she continued. “The original Buffy pilot was nothing to do with the show on the first time. It was a different Willow. I mean it’s a very different show, but those are learning tools and that’s what a pilot is.”
RELATED: Sarah Michelle Gellar Reveals She Declined Chloé Zhao’s ‘Buffy’ Reboot “Many Times” & Why She Learned To “Never Say Never”
“And so in this day and age I know I’ve seen a version of the script out there. It’s not actually correct. That stuff is really unfortunate and I ask fans if you see scripts, if you see it leaked, don’t watch it because you’re not getting our visions and all of that.”
Gellar posted a video on social media confirming that Buffy: New Sunnydale would not be moving forward where she thanks Zhao “because I never thought I would find myself back in Buffy’s stylish yet affordable boots,” adding, “And thanks to Chloé, I was reminded how much I love her and how much she means, not only to me, but to all of you. This doesn’t change any of that, and I promise if the apocalypse actually comes… you can still beep me.”
Ryan Kiera Armstrong landed the lead opposite Gellar in the Buffy pilot, playing the new slayer. The series regular cast also included Faly Rakotohavana, Ava Jean, Sarah Bock, Daniel Di Tomasso and Jack Cutmore-Scott, with Chase Sui Wonders as a guest star.
