Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot gets long-awaited update: ‘Make of that what you will’
The Buffy reboot has been staked. (WB)
The reboot of iconic ’90s drama Buffy The Vampire Slayer looks unlikely to see the light of day.
A new Buffy series was announced just over four years ago. It was due to be led by Monica Owusu-Breen, and would have starred a Black slayer continuing Buffy’s legacy. Joss Whedon, the creator of the original series, would have served as executive producer.
But the series’ future has looked uncertain since allegations of bullying and toxicity were made against Whedon by stars including Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia.
Now, after a long period of silence, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV’s Top 5 podcast reported that executive producer Gail Berman described the project as “on pause”.
Hollywood Reporter’s West Coast TV editor Lesley Goldberg says a pause is “industry speak for purgatory, so… make of that what you will”.
Amber Benson, Joss Whedon, Michelle Trachtenberg and Nicholas Brendon (J. P. Aussenard/WireImage)
Since the reboot was announced in 2018, several Buffy The Vampire Slayer actors have spoken out against alleged “toxic” behaviour demonstrated on set by producer Josh Whedon.
Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase on the show and its spin-off Angel, claimed that Whedon “abused his power” by frequently undermining her with “mean and biting” behaviour.
Gellar wrote on Instagram in February 2021: “Whilst I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don’t want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon.”
Other Buffy actors who have spoken out against Whedon include Amber Benson (Tara) and Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn), the latter claiming that there was an on-set rule that Whedon was not allowed to be alone with her.
Whedon has admitted that he was not “civilised” during his time on Buffy, but denied Carpenter’s claim that he called her “fat” while she was pregnant.
He also said he was “powerless” to resist having multiple affairs on the set of the show.
Tara (left) and Willow were the first lesbian couple to share a kiss on TV in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (20th Century Fox)
The original seven-season run of Buffy between 1997 and 2003 was one of the first major TV shows to feature a prominent same-sex romance, between witch Willow and her spell-casting sweetheart, Tara.
News regarding the reboot has been scarce in recent years, but it now seems to be dead for good – with a stake through the heart and a clove of garlic thrown in the coffin for good measure.
