Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reboot With Black Lead Actress Is Now 'On Pause'

The undead population of Sunnydale can breathe a collective sigh of relief as a new slayer won’t be rising anytime soon.
A reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this time featuring a Black actress as its titular heroine, has been in development since 2018 — but executive producer Gail Berman says the project is now “on pause,” as revealed in Friday’s episode of The Hollywood Reporter‘s TV’s Top 5 podcast.
Original series creator Joss Whedon was also aboard this reboot as an executive producer, with Monica Owusu-Breen (Midnight, Texas) serving as writer and showrunner. Owusu-Breen previously wrote for ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where Whedon was an EP as well. The reboot, which was referred to as “contemporary, building on the mythology of the original,” never had an official network home.
There was some confusion, however, about whether the show would be a straight reboot or some sort of revival. Shortly after news of the reboot broke in 2018, Owusu-Breen stated that the original show’s beloved characters “can’t be replaced,” adding that she “wouldn’t try to” replicate the “brilliant and beautiful series.” Instead, she suggested: “The world seems a lot scarier [today]. So maybe it could be time to meet a new Slayer.
The original Buffy, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, debuted in 1997 on The WB and ran for seven seasons, jumping to UPN for its final two. It has since become a cultural touchstone and cult favorite among TV fans.
Now "on pause," this #Buffy reboot has been in development since 2018. https://t.co/om8osvg1F5
— TVLine.com (@TVLine) August 19, 2022
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ETA 27/7/18: Updated with further clarification from the new showrunner/writer herself, Monica Owusu-Breen: turns out I was right the first time & the media wildly misinterpreted the initial Deadline article! It does sound way more spin-off/continuation than reboot! Yay!!!
— monicaowusubreen (@monicabreen) July 26, 2018
POLL: So, now that we have confirmation that the new #Buffy reboot is more spin-off than reboot, how excited are you?! #BuffyReboot #BuffySpinOffNotReboot @monicabreen @joss @SarahMGellar @JamesMarstersOf @NicholasBrendon @David_Boreanaz @AnthonySHead https://t.co/IQHRPGgVuo
— James Marsters News➕ (@jamie_marsters) July 26, 2018
ETA: Updated with some clarification from Lesley Goldberg, author of The Hollywood Reporter article:
To be clear, it’s NOT a spinoff. This is a brand new series. New Buffy.
— Lesley Goldberg (@Snoodit) July 22, 2018
Not a remake, a *reboot*. New stories for a new era. Details: https://t.co/fr8uva0Y9C
— Lesley Goldberg (@Snoodit) July 22, 2018
There will be a brand new Buffy, played by a new actress who will be African-American. End of story. There isn’t a script.
— Lesley Goldberg (@Snoodit) July 22, 2018
It seems like the vast majority of media outlets reporting on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer "reboot" have vastly misinterpreted, & thus misreported, the original article. So, per the original Deadline article, "The new version ... will be contemporary, building on the mythology of the original." And, "According to sources, the diversity in the show’s description reflects the producers’ intention for the new slayer to be African American."
Nowhere in the article does it state anything about a new actor taking over the role of Buffy, or replacing Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy, or recasting all of the original roles, as virtually every other headline would have you believe.
So, it definitely sounds way more spin-off/continuation than reboot/remake. But, as reboot seems to be the watchword of the moment, that's what people are running with.



Read the original Deadline article & decide for yourself:
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Series Reboot With Black Lead In Works From Monica Owusu-Breen & Joss Whedon
One of the most beloved TV series of the past two decades, Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is making a comeback. A reboot of the supernatural drama is in development at Fox 21 TV Studios, the cable/streaming division of 20th Century Fox TV, the studios behind the original series, which ran for seven seasons, first on the WB and then on UPN.
Midnight, Texas creator Monica Owusu-Breen has been tapped as writer, executive producer and showrunner of the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with the original series’ creator and showrunner Whedon set to executive produce alongside original series’ exec producers Gail Berman, Fran Kazui and Kaz Kazui as well as Joe Earley from Berman’s Jackal Group.
The new version, which will be pitched to streaming and cable networks this summer, will be contemporary, building on the mythology of the original. Per the producers: “Like our world, it will be richly diverse, and like the original, some aspects of the series could be seen as metaphors for issues facing us all today.”
According to sources, the diversity in the show’s description reflects the producers’ intention for the new slayer to be African American. The sources cautioned that the project is still in nascent stages with no script, and many details are still in flux.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which Whedon adapted from the 1992 feature he had written, helped establish him as a creator, Berman as a TV producer, star Sarah Michelle Gellar as a household name and the WB as a TV network. (Berman at the time ran Sandollar Television, which also is getting credit on the potential reboot.)
It was a game-changing hit that put the fledgeling WB on the map and was a series that developed a devoted following only a few others have managed to achieve. Fifteen years after Buffy‘s end, it’s still going strong. That helped make Buffy into a lucrative property for producer 20th Century Fox TV, which used the series’ success to get a bigger license fee from UPN in the show’s controversial move from its original home in 2001.
Buffy also spawned a successful spinoff in Angel, toplined by David Boreanaz, which aired on the WB for five seasons.
20th TV has been at the forefront of the current wave of reboots and revivals with 24: Live Another Day and 24: Legacy — which also opted to shake things up with a black actor, Corey Hawkins, succeeding Kiefer Sutherland — and new installments of Prison Break and The X-Files. The studio also has a Last Man Standing revival on Fox this coming season.
20th TV and the original series’ producers started discussions last fall about rebooting Buffy. After much deliberation and a lengthy back-and-forth, everyone involved agreed the time was right contingent on finding the right writer with the right take. The attention focused on Owusu-Breen.
She and Whedon had worked together on ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which Whedon co-created and executive produced/directed and Owusu-Breen co-executive produced.
It is unclear whether Whedon will have any other role on the series due to his many other commitments, but he will be involved creatively and already is working with Owusu-Breen.
Whedon, who had been focused largely on features for the past few years, including writing and directing the first two movies in Marvel’s hugely successful The Avengers franchise, The Avengers and The Avengers: Age of Ultron, is making a return to TV. He just signed on to write, executive produce and showrun The Nevers, picked up to series by HBO, and he also exec produces Pippa Smith: Grown-Up Detective, which is in development at Freeform. He is repped by CAA.
Owusu-Breen most recently created the NBC supernatural drama Midnight, Texas, based on the books by author Charlaine Harris, and served as executive producer and showrunner on the first season. She previously worked with J.J. Abrams on Alias, Lost and Fringe. Her series credits also include Revolution and Brothers and Sisters. She is repped by WME.
A little investigating: The original @DEADLINE article specifically states the words 'new slayer,' but every *other* article says some iteration of new actor playing the role of #Buffy. So, I'm gonna take @DEADLINE at their word & assume this is more spin-off than reboot. @joss pic.twitter.com/flgaIX3XMt
— James Marsters News➕ (@jamie_marsters) July 21, 2018
So, not a reboot...??? Someone really needs to come out with some clarification here, cos these headlines are incredibly misleading if this is the case. #Buffy @BuffyTVS ⚡️ “Buffy the Vampire Slayer is coming back in a new iteration”https://t.co/rH4Ht2iA7I
— James Marsters News➕ (@jamie_marsters) July 21, 2018
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