Sarah Michelle Gellar says one executive made 'Buffy' reboot an 'uphill battle' from the start

It turns retired the “Buffy” reboot was warring its ain metaphorical monster: an enforcement who was outspoken astir his deficiency of emotion for the archetypal series.

Sarah Michelle Gellar has addressed Hulu’s determination to termination the much-anticipated “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” revival, telling People successful an interrogation published Monday that she is “gutted” and that “nobody saw this coming.”

The histrion had been acceptable to reprise her iconic relation successful the reboot, tentatively titled “Buffy: New Sunnydale,” which she had been processing on with Oscar-winning manager Chloé Zhao for the Disney-owned streamer for years. Despite the enthusiasm astir the project, which would person introduced Ryan Kiera Armstrong arsenic the caller slayer alongside Gellar’s Buffy, Gellar pointed to astatine slightest 1 precise vocal detractor.

“We had an enforcement connected our amusement who was not lone not a instrumentality of the original, but was arrogant to perpetually punctual america that helium had ne'er seen the entirety of the bid and however it wasn’t for him,” Gellar told the outlet.

“That’s precise hard erstwhile you’re taking a spot that is arsenic beloved arsenic ‘Buffy’ not conscionable to the world, but to maine and Chloé,” she added. “So that tells you the uphill conflict that we had been warring since Day One, erstwhile your enforcement is virtually arrogant to archer you that helium didn’t ticker it.”

Though Gellar did not sanction the executive, according to Deadline the idiosyncratic who made the determination not to proceed was Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich, who besides oversees Hulu Originals.

Gellar seemed wounded by the timing of the determination too. She told People that she got the telephone with the atrocious quality conscionable arsenic she was astir to instrumentality the signifier astatine SXSW for the premiere of her caller movie, “Ready oregon Not 2: Here I Come.” The movie is simply a Searchlight Pictures production, which is nether the aforesaid firm umbrella arsenic the “Buffy” revival’s Searchlight Television.

“For them to telephone america connected the Friday of ... my satellite premiere of thing that I worked precise hard for is ... That says something,” she said, adding that she was “saddened astatine however it was handled and erstwhile it was handled.”

The histrion besides addressed the outpouring of emotion from “Buffy” fans and their absorption to the revival’s cancellation.

“[T]he fans, they were the lone crushed we were doing this amusement successful the archetypal place,” Gellar said. “We were doing it due to the fact that everybody loves it. So however bash you bash a amusement that’s beloved with idiosyncratic that doesn’t emotion it?”