Sarah Michelle Gellar Blames One Person For Killing The Buffy Reboot At Hulu: 'Nobody Saw This Coming'

Disappointed "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fans are still reeling from the news that Hulu has decided not to move forward with a reboot series, and now Sarah Michelle Gellar is sharing some insight as to why the project got the ax — er, the stake.

"Let me tell you, nobody saw this coming," the actress, who was set to reprise her role as Buffy Summers in the new iteration, tells People, adding that there's one specific person she blames for the "Buffy: New Sunnydale" pilot not being ordered to series.

"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," Gellar explains, not revealing the name of the executive in question. "That's very hard when you're taking a property that is as beloved as 'Buffy,' not just to the world, but to me and [pilot director Chloé Zhao]. 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.

"Buffy: New Sunnydale" was set to introduce Ryan Kiera Armstrong ("The Lowdown") as Nova, a new slayer training under the tutelage of Gellar's Buffy. The pilot's main cast also included Faly Rakotohavana ("Unprisoned") as lovable geek Hugo, Ava Jean ("A Week Away") as chronic do-gooder Larkin, Sarah Bock ("Severance") as faithful church attendee Gracie, Daniel Di Tomasso ("Witches of East End") as Nova's photojournalist father Abe, Jack Cutmore-Scott ("Frasier") as popular teacher Mr. Burke, and Kingston Vernes ("Undone") as Nova's love interest Carson.

Beyond Hulu's decision not to order "Buffy: New Sunnydale" to series, Sarah Michelle Gellar says she's also upset about the timing of the news. Gellar says she received the fateful phone call on Friday, March 11, mere moments before she and her co-stars from "Ready or Not" were preparing to take the stage at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas.

"No one saw this coming, including the head of Searchlight," Gellar says. ("Ready or Not" is a Searchlight Pictures production, while "Buffy: New Sunnydale" was under Searchlight Television.) 

Gellar continues: "It's also the weekend of [pilot director Chloé Zhao] going to the Oscars as a Best Director nominee for 'Hamnet.' For them to call us on the Friday of what should have been Chloé's victory lap for an incredible film, and my world premiere of something that I worked very hard for is... that says something."

Despite "Buffy: New Sunnydale" not being ordered to series, People reports that "there's a lot of love for the IP" at Hulu, and the streamer is still "mulling over what a next step could look like." So just like Buffy in the Season 5 finale, it's possible this franchise isn't as dead as it appears.

Are you disappointed that Hulu didn't order the new "Buffy" to series? Drop a comment with your thoughts on Gellar's statement below.