Not satisfied with the 1992 film that was based on his screenplay BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (pictured above), Joss Whedon rebooted the concept with a successful and beloved television series that ran from 1996 to 2003. Fifteen years after Buffy's TV run ended, Whedon is now set to executive produce a reboot of the Buffy series, one which will have an African American female lead.
Monica Owusu-Breen, co-creator of the TV show Midnight, Texas, which is based on a series of novels by True Blood author Charlaine Harris, will be writing, executive producing, and serving as showrunner on the new Buffy show. Whedon previously worked with Owusu-Breen on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Gail Berman, Fran Kazui, Kaz Kazui, and Joe Earley will be executive producing Buffy alongside Whedon and Owusu-Breen.
Whedon's executive producer credit isn't just an honorary one; he is creatively involved with the reboot and is crafting ideas with Owusu-Breen. The project is in very early stages, though, and Owusu-Breen hasn't completed a script for the pilot yet, so there aren't many solid details to go on at this point. The producers have released a statement saying,
Like our world, (this show) will be richly diverse, and like the original, some aspects of the series could be seen as metaphors for issues facing us all today."
The reboot is said to be "building on the mythology of the original", so it's not clear if the lead will be a new version of Buffy or if she'll be a different character who exists in the same world as the original Buffy.
The Buffy reboot is in development at Fox 21 TV Studios. The show will be pitched to streaming and cable networks this summer.
I was a big fan of the previous Buffy show and would be open to watching a new series, depending on how it turns out… I'm taking a "wait and see" approach to this one.