Fans are disappointed to hear that the initially planned sequel series to the culturally favoured 1990s series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, has been cancelled by Hulu, with Deadline reporting a sudden feeling that the wrong director was chosen as the reason.

The original show ran from 1997 to 2003 and became a cultural hit, achieving scholarly significance in addition to audience love and being hailed as one of the best TV shows ever made. Buffy the Vampire Slayer focuses on Buffy Summers of Sunnydale, who follows in a long line of vampire slayers and battles against what she comes from and her wish for a normal life as she takes down supernatural beings and monsters.  The show also stars Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, Seth Green, James Marsters, Marc Blucas, Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg and Amber Benson

Star Gellar, who was also set to produce the sequel series, took to her Instagram to share the sad news with her dedicated fanbase, stating, “I am really sad to have to share this, but I wanted you all to hear it from me. Unfortunately, Hulu has decided not to move forward with Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.”

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale was originally reported to be In development in early 2025, with confirmation that Nora and Lillia Zuckerman were writing and that Zhao was signed on to direct, having convinced Gellar to return to the role of Buffy.

The star also took time to thank filmmaker Chloé Zhao, who was set to direct the reboot, for helping her find her way back to the iconic and beloved character and maintained a light-hearted sense of humour for the fans by joking, “if the apocalypse does eventually come”, she will help out.

Gellar had also previously shared that the revival was for the fans.

“I was blown away that Chloé even knew who I was, but, as I’ve always done, I told Gail that I just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again,” she said. “We’d always been aligned on that, but this time I heard something different in her voice. I eventually agreed to go (mainly just to meet Chloé), and our twenty-minute coffee quickly turned into a four-hour adventure. We laughed, we cried, but mostly we both talked about how much this show means to us.”

Deadline affirms the streaming site “plans to regroup and mull a possible new incarnation of the beloved franchise”.

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