Sarah Michelle Gellar wants the unfinished Buffy pilot to stay hidden

Sarah Michelle Gellar is bummed that Hulu canceled Chloé Zhao's Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, but she also hopes the pilot they filmed does not leak online. She made the request during an appearance on Page Six's P6 Radio, where hosts suggested it would be great if the pilot surfaced. Gellar disagreed.

Her main point was simple and practical: pilots are not finished products. She said, "I actually hope it doesn't. Because then everyone's going to have an opinion on this and that, and pilots are not finished. It wasn't done, right? It's not like we did a season and finished it and then they shelved it."

What was in the pilot, according to reports

Variety reported that Gellar's Buffy character, Buffy Anne Summers, barely appears in the pilot. The episode primarily introduced a new group of characters, led by a new teenage Slayer played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong. In that draft, Buffy shows up only at the end and has one line.

Gellar explained that the pilot was made intentionally to introduce new characters and to learn what works and what needs fixing. She noted that pilots often change a lot before a series airs, pointing to the original Buffy pilot as an example of how different an early version can be.

Why she asked fans not to read leaked scripts

Gellar said one version of the script that has been circulating is "actually not correct" and urged fans not to read leaked pages. She asked, "If you see scripts, if you see it leaked don't watch it. Because you're not getting our vision and all of that."

How the cancellation was announced and what she said about Hulu

Gellar told fans the show was canceled in an Instagram video, saying Hulu decided not to move forward with Buffy: New Sunnydale. While promoting her new film, she has also publicly said a Hulu executive who led the project was not a fan of the original series and had not watched it in full. She told People magazine that this executive repeatedly said the series was not for him, which she felt made the job of reviving a beloved property much harder.

Why she spoke up

Gellar said she does not usually speak so directly, but felt compelled because the show means a lot to fans. She said it is "in our DNA" and that it deserves respect, so she wanted to stand up for that when she felt it was not being given.

Quick recap

  • Hulu canceled Chloé Zhao's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.
  • Gellar hopes the unfinished pilot does not leak and asked fans not to read leaked scripts.
  • Variety reported Buffy appears very little in the pilot; the episode focuses on new characters led by Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
  • Gellar blamed a Hulu executive's apparent lack of interest in the original series for part of the reboot's uphill battle.

In short: Gellar is sad the reboot is dead, worried early material will be misread, and asking fans to give unfinished work the benefit of the doubt.