Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot will reportedly have a main character who's "more Willow," with Sarah Michelle Gellar as a guest star

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(Image credit: Paramount)

The return of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is gathering momentum. A new report states casting is underway for the next Slayer and her companions, and that she'll be a little different from Sarah Michelle Gellar's take on the vampire hunter.

TVLine has some details on how the Buffy continuation is coming together. According to the outlet, the protagonist is a "cerebral 16-year-old" currently named Nova, who's quite smart and something of a loner.

She’ll have two close friends, the 'Scoobies' of this installment: Hugo, who's very nerdy and comes from a rich family, and Gracie, an "acolyte" of Buffy's and an expert on all things vampiric. Nova is described as "more Willow than Buffy".

Willow Rosenberg Best Moments | Season 1 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer - YouTube Willow Rosenberg Best Moments | Season 1 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer - YouTube
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In the original show, Willow is an academically-driven introvert played by Alyson Hannigan who develops an interest in magic over the course of the series. She provides something of a foil to Buffy's extroversion, and going in that direction creates some inherent contrast for the direction of the sequel.

It's stated casting is happening right now for all three characters. Eternals and Nomadland director Chloé Zhao is attached to direct the Buffy return for Hulu. Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman serve as writers and showrunners.

Gellar, the face of the franchise, is coming back, but it's believed she'll be more of a recurring character in front of the camera than a focal point. She announced her participation in the new Buffy show in February, writing: "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."

We'll have to wait and see what devilish goings on emerge. Check out our rundown of all the new TV shows on the way to see what other treats are coming to the small screen.

Anthony McGlynn
Contributing Writer

Anthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.

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