Sarah Michelle Gellar teases "new chapter" for Buffy The Vampire Slayer after wrapping revival pilot

Fandom, of course, is what animated the Buffy revival in the first place. Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, a longtime fan of the show, is the one who brought the idea to Buffy executive producer Gail Berman, who looped Gellar into the idea. Following allegations of workplace misconduct against the original series creator Joss Whedon, Gellar said she “didn’t see a way for the show to exist again.” However, she agreed to a meeting “mainly just to meet Chloé,” the actor explained in a previous social media post. The meeting blossomed into a partnership (which now also includes showrunners Nora and Lilla Zuckerman), and brought us to today, with Zhao directing the first episode. 

“I just wrapped the pilot on the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, which is set 25 years later. My company is part of developing it,” Zhao explained in a recent interview with The Los Angeles Times. “The fandom is so special to me and I’m excited about how that’s going to go into the world.” Gellar (who is reprising her most famous role in addition to serving as an EP) posted a few behind the scenes photos from the shoot to Instagram, including herself and Zhao posing with stakes. The final slide includes Zhao’s note from the first day of filming, which begins with the famous Buffy Summers quote, “The hardest thing to do in this world is live in it. Be brave. Live.” The filmmaker added, “Let’s embark on this adventure together with joy, empathy, curiosity and respect. Life is both beautiful and difficult. We will be rewarded and tested. We will be brave. We will live to the fullest and no we are never alone. We always have each other.”