Be still, our nerdy queer hearts! Rumors of a potential Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot have made the rounds for years, and according to the show’s no-longer-secret producer Dolly Parton, that possibility is still on the table.
“They’re still working on that,” Parton revealed during a recent interview with Business Insider, although she didn’t specify which exact Buffy creatives she was referencing. “They’re thinking about bringing it back and revamping it.”
This certainly isn’t the first time that Hollywood has considered heading back to Sunnydale. In 2009, filmmaker Fran Rubel Kuzui (a Buffy executive producer) attempted to resurrect Buffy with a new film that never came to fruition. More recently, original series creator Joss Whedon worked with Monica Owusu-Breen on a potential Buffy reboot featuring a Black lead in 2018.
Meanwhile, the original Buffy characters’ stories have since continued in comic book form, as well as via the 2023 audiobook Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, co-written and directed by Amber Benson (a.k.a. Tara Maclay, one true love of fellow witch and lesbian icon Willow Rosenberg). The audio story takes place a decade after the events of the original show and stars several returning cast members, including Benson, James Marsters, and Anthony Head.
Although details about the latest hypothetical reboot are scarce, Parton’s long history with the Buffyverse makes her a decent source of intel. The multihyphenate's production company, Sandollar Productions, coproduced the original 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer film starring Kristy Swanson as the titular vampire hunter. She went on to co-produce all seven seasons of the iconic TV series and the spinoff show Angel through Sandollar.
Parton’s role in the franchise was a little-known fact until last year, when Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar confirmed the “Jolene” singer’s involvement during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“Little-known fact, the legend Dolly was a producer,” Gellar said. “And we never saw her. We’d get Christmas gifts in the beginning that would have our name. And I would think, ‘She doesn’t even know who I am.’ And then one day, somebody asked her about it and she complimented the show and my performance. And I was like, ‘Oh, I can die now. Dolly Parton knows who I am and thinks I’m good.’”
Parton told Business Insider that although she was “very involved” in the show, the Nashville-based star wasn’t able to visit the Los Angeles set very often.
“A lot of my work was done just conversing back and forth with the business people there,” she said. “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.”
If Buffy the Vampire Slayer does eventually return, hopefully the reboot will expand on its beloved representation and, you know, leave the original show’s infamous “Bury Your Gays” treatment of fan-favorite character Tara in the past. But with a staunch queer ally like Parton in the mix, the future of Sunnydale is looking bright.
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