Hulu Reportedly Said The Buffy Reboot Was Too 'Small' and Had Not Enough Buffy, So Writers Created a Fresh Script — Only For the Show to Be Canceled Anyway

The squad down the now-cancelled Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot was told by Hulu that their aviator was excessively youth-focused, excessively "small" and featured a deficiency of Sarah Michelle Gellar herself arsenic Buffy, according to a caller report.

Deadline states that the Buffy reboot squad past worked to code these complaints, crafting a caller mentation of the publication that was reportedly well-received by TV execs, with Gellar acceptable to diagnostic successful a much salient role.

Last week, treatment betwixt the squad and the project's 2 Disney-owned TV accumulation companies, 20th TV and Searchlight, reportedly remained changeless and affirmative pursuing the caller script's delivery. But then, precocious connected Friday, the telephone came from Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich that the task had been dramatically scrapped by Hulu aft a twelvemonth of development.

Yesterday, Gellar discussed the stunning timing of the quality — minutes earlier she was astir to measurement connected signifier to beforehand Ready oregon Not 2, a Searchlight movie, with the brag of Searchlight who had been blindsided by the cancellation too. (Oscar-winning manager Chloé Zhao, who spearheaded the Buffy reboot pitch, was meantime successful the mediate of prep for this year's Academy Awards.)

Deadline's study paints a representation of vexation and bewilderment astatine the mode successful which the Buffy reboot task was killed, a twelvemonth connected from it getting greenlit, pursuing wide instrumentality excitement, and pursuing the transportation of that caller script.

Pushback implicit the amusement abruptly feeling excessively "young" erstwhile it had spent months casting teenagers (and was based connected an archetypal bid that besides began with highschoolers) was remarked arsenic odd, arsenic were different concerns from Hulu that the amusement had felt excessively "small." Sources told Deadline that the task had been fixed a concern mandate to instrumentality to the archetypal series' vibe, with a humble budget.

Gellar has publically blamed a azygous enforcement who was "not a instrumentality of the original" for the series' cancellation, and Deadline's study contiguous reveals the individuality of that person: Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich, who made the telephone past Friday to archer stakeholders that the reboot was dead.

"We had an enforcement connected our amusement who was not lone not a instrumentality of the original, but was arrogant to perpetually punctual america that helium had ne'er seen the entirety of the bid and however it wasn't for him," Gellar said previously. "That's precise hard erstwhile you're taking a spot that is arsenic beloved arsenic Buffy, not conscionable to the world, but to maine and Chloé.

"So that tells you the uphill conflict that we had been warring since time one, erstwhile your enforcement is virtually arrogant to archer you that helium didn't ticker it... So however bash you bash a amusement that's beloved with idiosyncratic that doesn't emotion it?"

Asked astir the cancellation herself connected the Oscars reddish carpet, Zhao possibly tellingly said she had been "not surprised" by the development.

Deadline's study concludes with the notation that Hulu volition apt effort again with a caller Buffy reboot successful a fewer years, thing that has besides been reported elsewhere implicit the past week. But with specified a precocious illustration and acrimonious extremity to this mentation of the project, it's hard to ideate a palmy continuation happening successful future, peculiarly considering Gellar's adjacent involvement.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social