23 Years Later, Hulu Cancelling the 'Buffy' Reboot Makes No Sense

Published Mar 20, 2026, 7:22 PM EDT

Hulu's 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Reboot Plans Started Off Strong

New Sunnydale was the first Buffy project since the original series premiered in 1997 to involve Sarah Michelle Gellar, giving it a sense of legitimacy and success even with just a pilot order. In interviews, Gellar made clear that her decision to return to the role was closely tied to the creative leadership of Chloé Zhao, whose latest film Hamnet was nominated for 8 Academy Awards. Zhao calls herself a fierce, long-term fan of Buffy, and her stewardship of the series away from creator Joss Whedon had Gellar surprisingly saying yes. With two huge names at the center, the Buffy revival quickly snowballed, gathering a wealth of fan support. At a time when Hulu executives were commissioning a wave of successful revivals from the same era, including Scrubs and Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Just Unfair, Buffy seemed like a guaranteed win.

There has been a continuous appetite for Sunnydale since Season 7 ended in May 2003 and audience engagement was matched by a visible push from Gellar herself. She used social media to build excitement, sharing updates from development and even posting the Zoom call where she introduced the new Slayer, Ryan Kiera Armstrong. Known for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Armstrong, aged 16, represented a clear generational handover, while Gellar’s return as Buffy provided a strong hook. Additional casting, including The Studio’s Chase Sui Wonders in a guest role and Sarah Bock from Severance, made the project all the more enticing. By the time the pilot finished filming in Los Angeles in August 2025, the revival had already generated significant buzz. A release window in late 2026 or early 2027 was expected, and it seemed to be moving forward with confidence. That is what made the announcement on March 14 feel so unexpected.

Hulu Shouldn't Have Cancelled 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale'

The cancellation of New Sunnydale unfolded in a way that only deepens this sense of confusion. According to Gellar in an interview with People, Craig Erwich, President of the Disney Television Group and head of Hulu Originals, called to say the project would not be moving forward. Gellar was attending her first SXSW and was about to head on stage to promote Ready or Not 2 and had been answering questions about the revival in press interviews at the festival. Director Chloé Zhao was ready to attend the Oscars that same weekend. Gellar pointed to the timing, noting that the news arrived on "what should have been Chloe’s victory lap for an incredible film and my world premiere of something that I worked very hard on,” adding, “that says something.” The sense that the announcement overshadowed what should have been a major professional weekend for both women has now become a big part of how the project will be remembered.

Gellar stated that one executive had been a consistent obstacle, describing them as someone who "was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that [they] had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn’t for [them]." That dynamic, she suggested, shaped the development process from the beginning, creating an "uphill battle." This executive has since been identified in reports from Variety as newly-promoted Craig Erwich, raising further questions about how a project built on such a well-known and widely loved property could be overseen by someone openly dismissive of it. The reaction from fans was immediate and intense. Petitions began circulating, videos appeared across social platforms, and there were visible efforts to push for the show’s return. Gellar said she had been reading all the responses, including messages from David Boreanaz, who played her love interest Angel on the original show.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale seemed to have it all: meaningful creative buy-in and sustained audience demand. Gellar’s return alone marked a major shift for the franchise, and Zhao’s involvement brought a level of attention and care. For now, the future of Buffy remains uncertain. The intellectual property is still held by Disney, and there have been suggestions that another version could emerge, but New Sunnydale has been slain. However, as Gellar put it to People, Buffy's “legacy is still there” and the cancelation does not take that way.