Dolly Parton said producers are working on bringing back Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Business Insider reported.
If you weren't a die-hard Buffy fan, you might not know that the country music legend, who recently performed at an NFL Thanksgiving show, was an uncredited producer in the '90s television staple which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, as well as the 1992 movie with Kristy Swanson.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer = Dolly Parton
Sandollar Productions, Parton's production company with her former manager Sandy Gallin, co-produced all of Buffy's seven seasons. It also co-produced the spinoff series Angel starring David Boreanaz.
Although Parton didn't specify the people involved in revamping (see what I did there?) the cult classic, she said that the producers are “Thinking about bringing it back.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, there was an attempt to reboot the show with a movie in 2009 by Fran Rubel Kuzui. However, the show's fans, as well as some of the cast, criticized the planned project for not consulting or involving Joss Whedon. Whedon created and directed the show.
In 2018, When worked with producer and screenwriter Monica Owusu-Breen to propose a new Buffy, this time with a Black lead, Deadline reported. Fans of the show objected to Buffy being played by a Black actor. Owusu-Breen then took to X (formerly Twitter) to clarify.
“There is only one Buffy,” she wrote.
Revamping Buffy
She further explained that the original show's characters could never be replaced. Owusu-Breen then suggested that “it could be time to meet a new Slayer.”
Late last year, some members of the Buffy cast reunited for an Audible series. The audio series was set after the show's conclusion in 2023. Slayers: A Buffyverse Story is set 10 years after the finale and follows a new slayer, Indira (Laya DeLeon Hayes) and Buffy's ex, the vampire Spike (James Marsters).
A few of the cast reprised their roles of the audio series such as Anthony Head (Rupert Giles), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia), Juliet Landau (Drusilla), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Amber Benson (Tara), James Charles Leary (Clem) and Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson).
While Parton is now vocal about her support for a possible reboot and that she was very involved when the original show was on air, she gives the credit for its success to the people who were on set every day. The singer was based in Nashville while the show was filming on set in Los Angeles.
“I have to give more people more credit on Buffy the Vampire Slayer than me. A lot of people did so much sweat on that. That little show did great,” she said.
“A lot of my work was done just conversing back and forth with the business people out there,” Parton added.
Speaking as a big Buffy fan (and Angel), I'm torn between wanting a reboot because I have missed younger, modern vampires on screen and letting the original stay where it is, untouched, because of how much it influenced me.
However, if there were to be a reboot/remake/revamp or what have you, I would rather it be was Owusu-Breen said, completely new characters. We could still have the Buffy mythology. After all, at the end of the series, she did effective share her Slayer powers to those who had the potential.
There's absolutely room for new Slayers and Slayerettes.
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