Hulu has put a stake in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar revealed that the continuation to her hit ’90s series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” heartbreakingly won’t be happening after all.
“So 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: New Sunnnydale,’” the actress began in a shocking Instagram video Saturday.
“I want to thank Chloé Zhao because I never thought I would find myself back in Buffy’s stylish yet affordable boots,” Gellar continued. “And thanks to Chloé, I was reminded how much I love her and how much she means, not only to me, but to all of you. And this doesn’t change any of that.”
The “Ready or Not 2” star added, “I promise that if the apocalypse actually comes, you can still beep me.”
Following the announcement, fans immediately flocked to the comments section to share their heartbreak, with one user writing, “Can we get another streaming service to pick it up?! Please.”
A second follower chimed in, “Honestly feeling heartbroken! No exaggeration.”
“BEEP!!!! We ARE beeping you!!! Devastated,” another stated. “The world needs Buffy now more than ever xxx.”
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One outraged person took aim at the streamer directly, writing, “Hulu not picking up a BTVS revival series with SMG finally agreeing to return, Chloe Zhao as director (Oscar winning director), the Zuckermans (Poker Face) is absolute MADNESS to me and anyone else who was in the know. Sort this out @hulu !!”
The news comes a year after Hulu first ordered a pilot for the project. Along with Zhao, 43, directing, the script was helmed by “Poker Face” writers Nora and Lilla Zuckerman.
Sources said the pilot was “not perfect,” per Deadline. The insider added that Zhao might not have been the right fit.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” originally ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003.
And after years of Gellar saying that she would “never” return to the Buffy-verse, Zhao changed the former vampire slayer’s mind.
“I actually like when people bring up that I said ‘never,’ because I really felt that way,” Gellar told ComicBook on Friday. “So, lesson learned, first of all, young children… Never say never. Say, ‘I don’t see it happening,’ but don’t say ‘never,’ because then you have egg on your face.”
“But I truly thought that’s where I was at,” she admitted. “I never heard a take or a reason to do it. Then Chloé Zhao came to me, and she had the reasons, and she had the take. Also, I was in a different place. The world was in a different place.”
As for how the “Hamnet” filmmaker changed her mind, Gellar explained that it was her “passion” and how to “go into the world.”
“She knew what the world was, and she knew the way,” the “Cruel Intentions” star said while on the “Shut Up, Evan” podcast in January. “And that was the first time I said, ‘Maybe, could I possibly do this? And this went on for three years now … me and Chloé going back and forth, saying I could do it, saying I can’t, and really spending the time to develop what it is and why it is.”
Fans were hopeful for the vision to come to fruition after Ryan Kiera Armstrong was announced as the project’s lead and Buffy’s right-hand vampire slayer in May.
Then, this past summer, Gellar was spotted on set filming in the fictional town of Sunnydale.
In June, Gellar teased a massive “Buffy” reunion that could have potentially taken place in the revival.
“It will be lighter than the last few seasons of the original,” she told Vanity Fair at the time. “We will try to find a balance between new and old characters.”
“My dream is to bring back everyone who has died,” Gellar added, “but space will have to be made for new stories as well.”
Besides Gellar, the original, Joss Whedon-created series starred Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Anthony Head (Rupert Giles), James Marsters (Spike), David Boreanaz (Angel) and Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase).
