Monica Owusu-Breen wants fans to know her “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reboot isn’t going to try to “replace” the original series. OK, you got that, Scoobies?
That said, the “Midnight, Texas” creator — who will be executive producing “Buffy”s return to the small screen along with OG creator Joss Whedon, and acting as showrunner — also thinks “it could be time to meet a new Slayer.”
“For some genre writers it’s ‘Star Wars,’” Owusu-Breen said in a statement posted to her verified Twitter account Thursday. “‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ is my ‘Star Wars’. Before I became a writer, I was a fan. For seven seasons, I watched Buffy Summers grow up, find love, kill that love. I watched her fight, and struggle and slay. There is only one Buffy. One Xander, one Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Oz, Tara, Kendra, Faith, Spike, Angel … They can’t be replaced. Joss Whedon’s brilliant and beautiful series can’t be replicated. I wouldn’t try to. But here we are, 20 years later … and the world seems a lot scarier. So maybe, it could be time to meet a new Slayer … And that’s all I can say.”
Last Friday, news broke that Whedon was planning on rebooting his slayer’s tale with Owusu-Breen — and fans had thoughts. While many die-hard viewers of the cult classic were outraged that anyone would try to adapted what is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time, others were interested to see how the story would continue — especially because the reboot is set to feature a black lead character.
Gail Berman, Joe Earley, Fran Kazui and Kaz Kazui are attached to serve as executive producers, alongside Whedon and Owusu-Breen. No network is attached to the 20th Century Fox-backed project, though producers are set to begin shopping the potential new series later this year.
The original series, starring by Sarah Michelle Gellar as the titular hero, ran for seven seasons beginning in 1997, five on The WB and two more on UPN. The fan-favorite drama launched the careers of stars Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head and David Boreanaz.
News of the “Buffy” reboot came one week after Whedon marked his return to television as as writer, showrunner and executive producer of the HBO sci-fi series “The Nevers.” (In case you were wondering, TheWrap asked HBO programming boss Casey Bloys yesterday, and he said “probably no” to the premium cabler taking on the “Buffy” reboot, too.)
Owusu-Breen, who recently served as co-EP on Whedon’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” has vast experience in the genre space, including credits on “Lost,” “Alias,” “Fringe,” “Charmed” and “Revolution.” She also served as showrunner on the first season of NBC’s “Midnight, Texas” adaptation.
See Owusu-Breen’s statement below.
— monicaowusubreen (@monicabreen) July 26, 2018