Here’s What Sarah Michelle Gellar Says About A ‘Buffy’ Reboot

Could Sarah Michelle Gellar be open to having one more go as “the chosen one” Buffy Summers, a.k.a. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”?

For years, talks centered on reviving or rebooting the hit 1996 TV series – and its contested but beloved 1992 film counterpart – have stalled.

However, in an age where restarts of “Sex and the City,” “Will and Grace,” and even “Frasier” run rampant, the 47-year-old Gellar is now adding her voice to the mix.

While stopping at “The Drew Barrymore Show” to promote the upcoming “Dexter” prequel, “Dexter: Original Sin,” Gellar was asked if joining the new series opened her mind to a potential Buffy reboot or revival sometime in the future.

After acknowledging Barrymore’s inquiry as one she had heard more than once, Gellar offered a thoughtful response.

“It’s funny, [because] I always used to say ‘no,’” she began, “because it’s in its bubble and it’s so perfect [as is].”

Then, after noting the popularity of the “Sex and the City” spinoff, “… And Just Like That,” and the “Dexter” prequel, she followed, “There are ways do it, [however]. It does get your mind thinking.”

Gellar’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” ran for seven seasons, airing its swan song in 2003 on the now-defunct UPN (Seasons 1-4 aired on the WB).

She appeared in all 144 episodes and occasionally cameoed as her character on several episodes of “Angel,” the series’ spinoff starring David Boreanaz.

Actor Christian Slater, who plays a younger version of Dexter’s father Harry Morgan in the “Original Sin” prequel, appeared with Gellar on Barrymore’s show to help promote the new series.

Gellar, who plays CSI Chief Tanya Martin, a new character for the “Dexter” franchise, couldn’t help but note the funny way Slater ties into the Buffy mythos via a line from the original 1992 movie (with actress Kristy Swanson playing the character), as Page Six notes.

“The famous line is, ‘All I want to do is graduate high school, go to Europe, marry Christian Slater, and die!”

With a laugh, Slater noted, “[But] we keep living, which is nice.”

Beginning in 2021, multiple actors from “Buffy” and “Angel” bravely shared their accounts of working on both series beneath franchise creator Joss Whedon.

Many of them; most notably, co-stars Charisma Carpenter and Michelle Trachtenberg, alleged less-than-ideal working conditions, including verbal abuse from Whedon.

Gellar would share some of her experiences with The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 but chose not to dive too deeply into what may have occurred.

“I’ve come to a good place with it, where it’s easier to talk about,” she told the publication, without mentioning Whedon’s name. “I’ll never tell my full story because I don’t get anything out of it.”

“I’ve said all I’m going to say because nobody wins,” she surmised. “Everybody loses.”

Still, she hoped that Whedon’s supposed actions and the backlash that rightfully arose from them didn’t ruin the show’s overall legacy.

“I will always be proud of [what we did on] ‘Buffy,’ Gellar expressed. “I will always be proud of what my castmates did, what I did.”

Though she may have turned the page concerning her role as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Gellar had to clarify earlier this year that she would not be appearing in the soon-to-come “I Know What You Did Last Summer” reboot.

After accidentally posting a shot of her visiting the set of the upcoming film a few weeks ago – something she wasn’t supposed to do (“I got in a little bit of trouble [for that],” she recently told another publication) – fans began to assume that Gellar would also be returning as Helen Shivers, her character from the first movie.

The only problem is… well, Helen’s no longer with us.

“I am dead,” Gellar reminded her fans, regarding Helen’s sad fate.

“My best friend [Jennifer Kaytin Robinson] is directing it,” she continued, “so we joke that I have an unofficial job, which is I am continuity,” she explains. “So, I’m always the one telling her, ‘Well, that would happen, or that wouldn’t happen with those characters.”

The first episode of “Dexter: Original Sin” can be streamed now on Paramount+.