Sarah Michelle Gellar shares her doubts about the Buffy revival — and why she signed on board

Monday’s news that a Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel series is in development was met with mixed feelings, as fans (read: me) were torn between excitement at the beloved franchise’s return and hesitation — or outright disbelief — that they could ever do it right. As it turns out, original star Sarah Michelle Gellar shares these reservations — which actually makes me a little more optimistic about the project.

“I have always listened to the fans and heard your desire to revisit ‘Buffy’ and her world, but it was not something I could do unless I was sure we would get it right,” Gellar said in an Instagram post on Thursday. “This has been a long process, and it’s not over yet. I promise you, we will only make this show if we know we can do it right. And I will tell you that we are on the path there.”

The sequel series has yet to be given a pilot order from Hulu, but Deadline reports the streamer is likely to move forward with the pilot, which will directed by Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao and written by Poker Face’s Nora and Lilla Zuckerman.

On Instagram, Gellar shared how she came to change her mind about ever doing a Buffy revival, revealing her own initial doubts about the project and deep-felt care to honor the show’s legacy. As Gellar recounts, she was approached three years ago by Buffy executive producer Gail Berman, who was previously attached to the development of 2018’s stalled Buffy reboot. “I told Gail that I just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again,” Gellar wrote. “We’d always been aligned on that, but this time I heard something different in her voice.”

So, Gellar decided to meet with Zhao, who was interested in executive producing the potential series. This “twenty minute coffee quickly turned into a four hour adventure,” Gellar recalled. “We laughed, we cried, but mostly we both talked about how much this show means to us. While I didn’t agree to anything at that meeting, I did shock myself by agreeing to continue the conversation.”

Over the years, the duo continued to work on how to bring Buffy back in a way that would do the original series justice, enlisting the Zuckermans along the way. Eventually they landed on an idea Gellar felt good about moving forward with, though the only announced details at this time are that the series will star a new slayer with Gellar in a recurring role.

“I feel so lucky to be on this journey with these four unbelievably talented women, all of whom love ‘Buffy’ as much as I do. And as much as you do,” Gellar wrote. “Thank you to all the fans who never stopped asking for this. This will be for you.”

While more Buffy is never anything I wanted and I’m still riddled with doubts about its possible return, seeing Gellar share similar hesitations gives me some reassurance that maybe — just maybe — if Gellar came around to the idea, I will eventually too.