Find Station
 

'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Is Being Rebooted With a Black Lead

On Saturday (July 21), Entertainment Weekly confirmed that there is indeed a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot in the works.

Informal discussions about reviving the widely acclaimed series in a new form began last fall, with Monica Owusu-Breen (Alias, Midnight Texas) signed on as the new version’s writer and the series creator Joss Whedon working closely with her, returning to his role of executive producer. The reboot is expected to be pitched to streaming and cable outlets later this summer.

Though no script, casting or director have been confirmed, the new version of Buffy is being described as a “contemporary” and “richly diverse” take on the original series, building on the show's mythological roots and using it as a platform to comment on the current political and cultural climates in America. 

“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," producers told Deadline.

Sources say the reboot's titular character, who was played by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the original series, will be played by a black actress.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on March 10, 1997, airing on the WB Network. The show later went to UPN, before going off the air in 2003.

Photo: Getty Images