The Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot has got the stake-axe. Series star Sarah Michelle Gellar took to Instagram to share that Hulu is no longer moving forward with the project, which came from 20th Century Television and Searchlight TV, and had been in the works since February 2025.

Oscar winner Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Hamnet) was set to direct with a script penned by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face). The reboot was to follow a younger Slayer, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, with Gellar’s Buffy Summers returning to star. Series regulars would have included Faly Rakotohavana as Hugo, Ava Jean as Larkin, Sarah Bock as Gracie, Daniel Di Tomasso as Abe and Jack Cutmore-Scott as Mr. Burke.

“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 Sunnydale,” the actress said in a video. “I want to thank Chloé Zhao, because I never thought I would find myself back in Buffy’s stylish yet affordable boots. 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. This doesn’t change any of that, and I promise if the apocalypse actually comes, you can still beep me.”

A few days after announcing the cancellation, Gellar gave an interview in which she criticised the studios’ decision, and said that one executive (who remains unnamed) made a point of saying he never liked Buffy.

“We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn’t for him,” she said. “That’s very hard when you’re taking a property that is as beloved as Buffy, not just to the world, but to me and Chloé. So that tells you the uphill battle that we had been fighting since day one, when your executive is literally proud to tell you that he didn’t watch it.”

Currently, it’s not thought that the project can be shopped elsewhere, since Disney owns the Buffy IP.