The actress said it would be a disservice to the vision of the team.

Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn’t want fans to watch Buffy reboot pilot if it leaks: ‘Everyone’s gonna have an opinion’

The actress said it would be a disservice to the vision of the team.

By Leigh Blickley

March 19, 2026 1:33 p.m. ET

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Sarah Michelle Gellar in 2026. Credit:

Valerie Terranova/Getty

Sarah Michelle Gellar is urging fans not to watch the scrapped pilot for the reboot of *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* if it leaks online.

Although fans are champing at the bit to see the Chloé Zhao-directed pilot of *Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale *after Hulu decided not to move forward with the series, Gellar told *Page Six* *Radio* that watching it would be a disservice to the creative team and their vision.

"I actually hope it doesn't [leak] because then everyone's going to have an opinion on this and that," the *Ready or Not 2: Here I Come* star said. "Pilots aren't finished. It wasn't done, right? It's not like we did a season and finished it and then they shelved it."

Gellar went on to say that the pilot was a way for the cast and crew to get a sense of the recharged vibe of Sunnydale, and was not at all a finished product.

"We made a pilot on purpose because there's some new characters and you want to see how it goes. And there's things you learn from it, and there's things you fix," she said. "Usually, a pilot doesn't air in its entirety ever, and so you use that information as a learning tool. I mean, the original *Buffy* pilot was nothing to do with the show on the first time. It was a different Willow. I mean, it's a very different show. But those are learning tools, and that's what a pilot is."

Gellar, of course, is referring to the original supernatural drama series she starred on alongside Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Seth Green, and David Boreanaz about a young vampire slayer battling evil forces in her small Southern California town. It aired from 1997 to 2003.

The new series was reported to be in development at Hulu in early 2025 and production started on the pilot in August, with Gellar on board to reprise her role of Buffy Summers and Zhao sharing that it was set 25 years after the original. After months without updates, Gellar announced on Saturday that Hulu had passed on the pilot.

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"I know I've seen a version of the script out there. It's not actually correct. That stuff is really unfortunate," Gellar told *Page Six*. "And I ask fans, if you see scripts, if you see [the pilot] leaked, don't watch it because you're not getting our visions and all of that. You know what? There's two things you can do if you want to make this right right now ... you can go stream *Buffy*, go watch it. Go see [*Ready or Not 2*]. Like, go buy a ticket. That's what you can do right now. That's all we can do."

Sarah Michelle Gellar on 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'.

Hulton Archive/Getty

Zhao also spoke about the cancellation at the Oscars on Sunday, telling *Variety* that she was "not surprised."

"I had an incredible, incredible time with Sarah, with all the cast and crew doing this," the Oscar winner said. "And we, first and foremost, see ourselves as the guardians of the original show. Our priority for Sarah and for us has always been to be truthful to the show, to be truthful to our fans. So, things happen for a reason, and we keep our hearts open and we welcome the mystery. And what this might lead us to.”

Earlier this week, Gellar alleged that one person was responsible for leaving *Buffy* in the past.

“We had an executive on our show who was not only not a fan of the original, but was proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series and how it wasn’t for him," she told PEOPLE. "So that tells you the uphill battle that we had been fighting since day one, when your executive is literally proud to tell you that he didn't watch it.”

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Of her decision to speak out on Hulu's decision, Gellar told *Page Six *that Buffy is "more than just a show" to people.

"It's in our DNA and I think it deserves respect," she explained, "and when I don't see it being given the respect, then I have to stand up for that, because that's important to me. Yeah, so you guys know what I know."

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Source: “EW Sci-Fi”