Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: angel, btvs, buffy, buffy the vampire slayer, sarah michelle gellar, zendaya

Buffy: Sarah Michelle Gellar Casts Her Vote for Zendaya as Next Slayer

Published Fri, 18 Mar 2022 11:07:11 -0500

Okay, let's get some important stuff out of the way first. If you're a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, then you need to get a copy of Evan Ross Katz's recently-released Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts (you can purchase it here)- an exploration of the franchise's immense impact on pop culture and society as well as a number of failings that the show suffered from (including directly addressing the abuse accusations leveled by many connected with the show in 2021). What really separates this book from others that have covered the shows in the past is the access Katz had to speak to a number of familiar faces, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Charisma Carpenter, Emma Caulfield, Amber Benson, James Marsters, Anthony Head, Seth Green, Marc Blucas, Nicholas Brendon, Danny Strong, Tom Lenk, Bianca Lawson, Julie Benz, Clare Kramer, K. Todd Freeman, and Sharon Ferguson; and writers Douglas Petrie, Jane Espenson & Drew Z. Greenberg. And with all of those names in play come dozens of heartwarming, heartbreaking & enlightening personal perspectives on their experiences during the shows' runs and the impact it continues to have on them today.

Like the following conversation that Katz had with Gellar about the idea of rebooting the series (a plan that was first announced back in 2018 but has understandably gone quiet ever since). In the following excerpt, Gellar shares her idea on the best way to approach a return to the "Buffy" universe as well as who she believes would be the best Slayer for this generation (clue: fans of Euphoria and Spider-Man: No Way Home will be very, very happy). "I think they've left the door open in a wonderful way because I do think it would be interesting to see how someone born with that power does fend in this modern world and what the new demons are. The way 'Buffy' was left- that every girl who wants the power has it- you can still tell the story of a Slayer, but maybe it's not Buffy," Gellar explained. "Because Buffy's story was of that time. So maybe it's a different Slayer, and in that case, I'm all for it because I'd be certainly interested to see how do you handle being a Chosen One now and what injustices you are fighting and what the demons represent." And who does Gellar see as being this generation's main Slayer? "I vote ['Euporia' star] Zendaya," she responded (an idea that Benz found "amazing" and that we fully, 108.3% support).

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