Chloé Zhao Speaks About Buffy The Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale Getting Canned

Best Director nominee Chloé Zhao was on the Oscar red carpet when asked about the shock cancellation of her Buffy The Vampire Slayer reboot.

Timing is everything, folks, and the timing of the bad news regarding Chloé Zhao and Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s Buffy reboot could not have been worse. According to Deadline, Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich called to inform stakeholders that the project would not be going ahead at 6pm on Friday – never a great time to learn you’ve basically been fired.

But a bit worse than usual for Gellar and Zhao. Sarah Michellle Gellar was at the SXSW premiere for her new movie, Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come. Chloé Zhao, on the other hand, was gearing up for the Academy Awards, where her last film, Hamnet, was nominated for eight Oscars, with Zhao herself up for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (Hamnet took home only one – Best Actress for Jessie Buckley).

So, Zhao had to field questions about the demise what was going to be her next project while walking the red carpet. Can’t have been much fun.

Twitter / X Post

Click to load embed

Chloé Zhao says she’s “not surprised” that the #Buffy reboot was canceled at Hulu.

The CNN & Variety Red Carpet Afterparty is now live on the CNN app and YouTube. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/BxGA31LpPl

— Variety (@Variety) March 16, 2026

Speaking to Variety, Zhao noted that she was not surprised the show didn’t get picked up, but didn’t elaborate further. She did go on to praise the creative process and her comrade-in-stakes, Sarah Michelle Gellar.

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

Asked whether the series could find a home at another streamer or network, Zhao repeated, “Welcome the mystery.”

The accepted wisdom is that Hulu is still interested in doing something with the Buffy, property = just not whatever Zhao, Gellar and their team cooked up. So, the expectation is that we’ll get a different take on Buffy at the Disney-owned streamer, rather than this take finding a home elsewhere.