When Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered in 1997, it was a TV show based on a not especially successful 1992 movie with a funny name. Yet, the show soon rose above its humble origins to become a cult phenomenon. Buffy came along just as the internet was becoming a popular forum for fans to connect, discuss, and dissect their favorite shows, and the Buffy fandom grew and became vocal online. Buffy fans were enthusiastic about evangelizing for their favorite show, especially since the story of Buffy Summers and her friends became a touchstone for many as they went through tough life transitions, from coming of age to coming out of the closet. Buffy and its fandom made fans feel less alone. Being a Buffy fan became an identity that connected fans to each other and to a show that was deeply meaningful to them.
The show’s passionate fanbase is still engaged with the show today, over 20 years after it first hit the air. The fandom clamors for any news about Buffy creator Joss Whedon, and its many actors and writers. To many fans, Buffy is sacred, and a reboot must be handled very, very carefully. So, when news hit the interwebs that a Buffy reboot was in the works at 20th Century Fox Television in which Buffy would be played by a black actress, fans weren’t quite sure how to respond. Given the reboot news, the time seems right to examine why a Buffy reboot could work out, as well as the reasons it’s maybe less than a great idea.
25 DON’T: BUFFY’S STORY IS STILL GOING IN THE COMICS
Fans were thrilled when Buffy continued in comics form starting four years after the show ended its TV run, with its seventh season in 2003. The aptly titled "Season 8" continued Buffy and the Scooby Gang’s story where it left off.
That story has continued through several more comic seasons and is scheduled to come to a close with season 12 this summer. Many of the comics were written or overseen by Joss Whedon and are considered canon. Given all the Buffy content we have, do we need a rehash of the series on TV?
24 DON’T: WHAT COUNTS AS CANON THEN?
Many fans of the show are still engaged with the series as it exists today. They’re aces at trivia on characters, plot points, quotes, and anything else you can imagine. And they know what’s canon. A reboot would totally upend that, forcing fans to choose what counts as canon and what doesn’t.
Unlike many other reboots that take place well after the original series or revive a show with the original cast or the original character’s descendants, rebooting Buffy from scratch creates a conflict with the original. This has the potential to lead to fan frustration and confusion.
23 NEED IT: BRAND-NAME RECOGNITION
From a business point of view, the idea of a Buffy reboot makes sense. At this point, Buffy has a recognizable brand name that’ll help with marketing. The curiosity brought about by the recognizable title is something Fox no doubt believes it can tap into to drive existing fans and new viewers to the reboot.
The strategy could certainly work. After all, there’s a reason today’s TV and movie landscape is awash in prequels, sequels, reboots, and revivals. The fact that it remains a pop culture powerhouse could only mean big bucks for the executives and more content for us... so long as that content is worth consuming.
22 DON’T: ORIGINAL REMAINS POPULAR
The original TV version of Buffy still remains immensely popular. Every year, there are Joss Whedon-dedicated conferences, like WhedonCon, that include Buffy-related panels. This is not to mention every year San Diego Comic-Con ends with a sing along to the musical episode of Buffy. And this year at SDCC, Fox even had the very first Buffy scavenger hunt.
Clearly the existing fandom isn’t done with the existing Buffy. It’s too soon to reboot the show fans love when they’re still enthusiastic about the version they already know, no matter how much more they want.
21 NEED IT: YOUNGER VIEWERS, CONTEMPORARY STORIES
There are places where Buffy is a little dated. Nowhere is this more evident than in the technology Buffy and the gang use. The show includes floppy disks, pagers, and later, a flip phone. Forget about seeing smart phones, texting, or social media. Those things didn’t exist or were just getting going at the time Buffy was made.
If the reboot tells stories that speak specifically to the present, with plots about things like cyber-bullying or privacy concerns, it could make the world of Buffy more relevant and familiar to younger viewers.
20 DON’T: FANBASE FOR ORIGINAL CONTINUES TO GROW
While some of the references and technology is dated, Buffy continues to draw in new viewers, including a lot of younger ones. Many of these viewers are introduced to the series by their parents or older siblings. Often they become just as passionate about the show as those who watched it during its original broadcast run.
Between DVDs and streaming, Buffy is easily accessible to anyone who's heard the buzz that continues to surround it. Twenty years after it was first released, the Buffy fandom is still growing, even without a refresher.
19 NEED IT: NEW SPIN ON OLD THEMES
Buffy was incredibly thematically rich, featuring explorations of everything from what it means to have and use power to how to cope with being different. A new version of Buffy could expand on and enhance those themes. In today’s world, our actions are more scrutinized than ever, so themes like how one presents themselves in public versus who they are in private may become even more important to a reboot.
In addition, since the new Buffy will be portrayed by a black actor, the reboot could delve not only into girl power but what it is to be a black girl with power.
18 DON’T: FANS AREN’T INTO IT
An informal review of comments and social media reactions indicates that Buffy fans aren’t that into the idea of a reboot. Fans want anything coming out of the Buffyverse to be good, of course, but in this case they’re worried that just isn’t possible.
While fans want more stories about the world of the Chosen Ones, a reboot with a new Buffy wasn’t necessarily what they had in mind. It feels like the producers and writers are trying to fix something that isn’t broken, which will only lead to disappointment for everyone.
17 NEED IT: JOSS WHEDON IS INVOLVED
One thing fans consistently said about the possibility of a reboot or revival was if Buffy creator Whedon wasn’t involved, they wouldn’t be watching. Well, good news, Whedon is involved! He’ll be an executive producer on the new show and he’s reportedly helping to write the pilot.
Fans' trust in Whedon runs deep. Not to mention, Whedon should want to protect the Buffy legacy just as much as fans do, so his involvement will hopefully mean the reboot will be awesome. At this stage we know very little about the new show, but Whedon’s endorsement of it says a lot.
16 DON’T: JOSS WHEDON WON’T BE THERE DAY-TO-DAY
Although Whedon is an executive producer on the reboot, he won’t be its showrunner. And given his other commitments, especially to his new HBO show The Nevers, there’s no way Whedon could be involved on a daily basis.
Instead, Monica Owusu-Breen, who was a writer on the Whedon-created Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., will serve as showrunner. Owusu-Breen has some fantastic credits to her name, including Alias, Lost, and Fringe, but she’s not Whedon. Hopefully fans can learn to trust her vision for Buffy as much as they do Whedon's.
15 DON’T: UNLIKELY TO INCLUDE ORIGINAL CAST
So far, one of the few things we know about the Buffy reboot is that Buffy will not be played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. That indicates the series will be starting Buffy’s story from the beginning, meaning the rest of the characters from the original couldn’t be played by the actors fans know and love either.
That leaves two possibilities: either the original cast isn’t part of the reboot or they show up as different characters. While the former would be a shame, the latter could be worse, pushing fans’ nostalgia buttons while relegating past series stars to lesser roles.
14 NEED IT: STILL CHALLENGES HORROR TROPES
Whedon has said that the original motivation for the creation of Buffy was to subvert the trope of the terrorized blonde, nubile young girl in horror movies. Buffy Summers was designed to empower that girl.
Of course, nowadays we’re well aware it’s not just the blonde girl who meets a terrible fate in horror films; it’s often the black characters too. As Potential Rona observed in a Season 7 episode, “The black chick always gets it first.” A black Buffy would extend Whedon’s original idea for the show by empowering a black female character.
13 DON’T: SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR IS BUFFY SUMMERS
Sarah Michelle Gellar is and always will be Buffy Summers. Calling another actress Buffy won’t change that. Fans are extremely attached to Gellar’s strong, vulnerable, nuanced portrayal of the character. As a result, it would be hard to accept another actor in the role, even if that actor was someone like Meryl Streep!
When fans think Buffy, they think Gellar. Buffy has become Gellar’s signature role, and she will forever be linked to Buffy in fans’ minds. This has become so ingrained that it would be nearly impossible to change.
12 DON’T: A NEW BUFFY WILL NEVER BE AS GROUNDBREAKING
When Buffy first premiered in 1997, it was unlike anything that had been on TV before. The stories tackled all sorts of everyday horrors while the characters were funny, irreverent, and touching. Most importantly, the show revolved around an empowered girl who wanted to include her friends in her fight. The show was an overlooked gem, and that made it special.
Nowadays, though, “strong female characters” are pretty standard, as are many of the things Buffy pioneered. The popularization of these things means a new Buffy could never be as groundbreaking as the original.
11 NEED IT: CORRECT DIVERSITY PROBLEMS OF THE PAST
One of the often-discussed problems with the original Buffy was it seriously lacked in the diversity department. It was hard to find a person of color on the show, even in the background.
Furthermore, when a character of color did appear, they often didn’t fare well. Vampire Mr. Trick and fellow Chosen Ones Kendra and Nicki Wood were all portrayed by black actors. None of them were on the show for very long. One of the goals of the reboot is to feature a diverse, inclusive cast. This would correct the diversity issues that plagued the original.
10 DON’T: CAN’T LIVE UP TO THE ORIGINAL
The original Buffy has a special place in many fans' hearts. Even as it's grown, the fandom still feels like an exclusive club of people who’ve found a piece of pop culture that represents who they are.
The social commentary, the metaphors that speak to life’s many struggles, and so many other things make Buffy deeply meaningful to many. More importantly, the show is rich enough to maintain fans’ interest even as their perspective on its stories shift as they grow older. It would be hard for a reboot to live up to that.
9 NEED IT: UPDATE THE METAPHORS
One of the things that makes Buffy resonate so deeply with fans is its use of metaphor to get at difficult issues. All the monsters and demons populating Sunnydale are used to reference real-world problems, making for powerful television.
The reboot has the opportunity to both expand upon and update the metaphors for a new generation. This would allow the series to really dig into current issues including online trolling, partisan bickering, access to weapons, immigration, and the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements. By using metaphors to explore these things, the reboot would give viewers a vehicle to consider them that is less charged than a more realistic portrayal would be.
8 DON’T: FAN INVESTMENT IS NOT TRANSFERABLE
Much of the fervor around existing intellectual property in the entertainment industry is based on the idea that fans will flock to any story adapted from a property they already love. But fan investment is not always transferable. Some things are sacred, and the original Buffy is one of those things.
Buffy fans’ investment in the original started off high and remains that way. Asking fans to transfer that investment to a new Buffy feels like a threat to their long-standing loyalty to the cast and crew of the original series.
7 DON’T: MUCH OF THE STORY IS TIMELESS
No matter who you are, one thing everyone has in common is the trauma and triumph of growing up. We all struggle to figure out who we are and what matters to us in adolescence and early adulthood. That is exactly the time in Buffy’s life the original show focuses on. As a result, it makes much of the story timeless.
While the details change, the essence of the struggle to come of age in a complex society is relevant no matter when someone watches Buffy. That’s why the show still draws new fans over 20 years after its premiere.
6 NEED IT: OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD ON BUFFY MYTHOLOGY
The mythology of Buffy and the line of Chosen Ones was explored throughout the show, its spin-off Angel, and Buffy’s continuation in comic form. Yet, we still don’t know everything about it. There are tons of things fans would still like to know about the mythology of the Buffyverse.
A reboot could delve into these questions and more, filling in the blanks of some of the existing Buffy mythology and giving fans even more backstory on these super-powered demon-fighters.