We finally have our first images of Sarah Michelle Gellar on set for the rebooted and retooled Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The actress, 48, will reprise her role as Buffy Summers for the upcoming relaunch of the iconic 90s teen drama.
Its original series ran for seven seasons between 1997 and 2003, and followed teenage vampire slayer Buffy as she battled bloodsuckers, demons, banshees and bad boyfriends alike.
Over two decades later, a revival of the show is in the works with Hulu, with the actress also serving as executive producer.
Featuring a new cast of fresh-faced vampire hunters, Gellar has promised that the show will ‘try to find a balance between new and old characters’ – with Buffy leading the charge.
If this first glimpse of an all-grown-up Buffy is anything to go by, the fashionista vampire hunter still slays, all these years later.
Pictured in Los Angeles, where both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spin-off Angel were filmed, Buffy’s new look is a striking departure from her teenage self.
Once a trailblazer for 90s grunge and early 2000s fashion, middle-aged Buffy (feel old yet?) has swapped the leather jacket and leopard skin for a bright red top and matching skirt.
She partnered this with a pair of crimson stilettos (with a heel high and sharp enough to pierce any vampire’s heart) and a pink bag.
Gellar officially shared the news that she was set to reprise her most famous role earlier this year.
In a lengthy Instagram post, she explained that talks had begun three years ago, when ‘dear friend and mentor’ Gail Berman asked her to take a meeting with Eternals director Chloé Zhao.
‘I was blown away that Chloé even knew who I was, but, as I’ve always done, I told Gail that I just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again. We’d always been aligned on that, but this time I heard something different in her voice,’ she explained.
‘I eventually agreed to go (mainly just to meet Chloé) and our twenty minute coffee quickly turned into a four hour adventure. We laughed, we cried, but mostly we both talked about how much this show means to us.’
Sarah continued: ‘While I didn’t agree to anything at that meeting, I did shock myself by agreeing to continue the conversation. These conversations did, in fact, continue over the next few years and eventually we added the incredible Nora and Lilla Zuckerman to our little tribe until ultimately, one day, we landed on an idea.’
Promising that ‘we will only make this show if we know we can do it right,’ she assured fans: ‘I will tell you that we are on the path there.’
‘I feel so lucky to be on this journey with these four unbelievably talented women, all of whom love “Buffy” as much as I do.And as much as you do.
‘Thank you to all the fans who never stopped asking for this. This will be for you.’
According to Deadline, series creator Joss Whedon will have no involvement in the reboot.
While it remains to be seen which other members of the original cast will return, the show has already found its next generation of vampire hunters.
In May, it was announced that Star Wars: Skeleton Crew star Ryan Kiera Armstrong had joined the cast as Sunnydale’s newest Slayer.
Sharing the news as she welcomed 15-year-old Ryan aboard, Gellar wrote: ‘From the moment I saw Ryan’s audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side.
‘To have that kind of emotional intelligence , and talent, at such a young age is truly a gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room.’
Earlier this month, Deadline reported that actors Faly Rakotohavana, Ava Jean, Sarah Bock, Daniel Di Tomasso and Jack Cutmore-Scott had also joined the show as series regulars.
The original show was beloved for its extended cast, which included Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Anthony Head as librarian Giles, and broody vampires Spike (James Marsters) and Angel (David Boreanaz).
One tragic void left in the cast will be Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s younger sister, Dawn.
According to a source for DailyMail.com, the actress had been ‘incredibly hopeful’ that she might also reprise her role for the reboot.
‘Sarah Michelle obviously felt that the reboot would need her as much as it needed Sarah,’ an insider said, claiming that she had a ‘pivotal role,’ and that ‘everyone was aware of her recent health struggles’.
‘They were hoping that, perhaps, casting her as Sarah’s sister in a reboot would help her overcome any issues she was having. She was not cast out by any means.’
Trachtenberg died before this could come to pass, after being found in a luxury apartment complex in New York, aged 39.
In tribute to her late co-star, Gellar shared a series of snaps from their time together.
She captioned the post: ‘Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you.’
All seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are currently streaming on ITVX. There is currently no release date for the reboot.
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