Buffys James Marsters gives verdict on new | TV Shows

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star James Marsters spoke exclusively to Reach PLC about the upcoming reboot, confessing the sequel series had triggered a ‘feeding frenzy’ in Hollywood thanks to the original’s widespread appeal. The Spike actor, 62, also revealed his thoughts on Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao, who is slated to helm the pilot episode of the fresh series.

This follows his glowing praise for co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar, who brought the titular character to life from 1997 to 2003, expressing his enthusiasm to watch her take charge of the new show as Executive Producer. Chatting with Reach earlier this year about the forthcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, he declared: “I cannot wait. And then I’m assuming it’s going to go to series and the writer-producers that are going to be handling that are equally talented, but Chloé Zhao is just incredible.

“There’s a feeding frenzy right now in Hollywood,” he disclosed. “All Hollywood writers are trying to get on this project. Because they all decided they wanted to be writers when they were kids and they watched Buffy and were like, ‘Wow, I wanna try that.'”

“So everyone’s trying to get in on it and Chloe is one of the people where one of the reasons she’s a writer is that she loved Buffy and so..

“You know how Sam Raimi kind of grew up on Spider-Man comic books?” he inquired, drawing a comparison to the celebrated filmmaker behind the 2002 Spiderman trilogy.

“He was able to get himself in there and respect the source material and just turn it into something insanely cool.

“The first Spider-Man movies proved that you could do a superhero movie and treat it as a serious story. And I just can’t wait to see what Chloé comes up with,” Marsters said with evident excitement.

Zhao, acclaimed for directing films such as Eternals, The Rider, and the Oscar-winning Nomadland, is recognized for her directorial prowess, having clinched the Best Director award in 2021.

Marsters also highlighted Gellar’s pivotal role in the success of the original series, attributing the show’s seven-season longevity to her.

He expressed his admiration, adding: “She’s amazing, by the way. I really believe that if anyone else would have played Buffy, we never would have lasted seven years.

“Because we worked up to 20 hours a day and so there’s not a lot of sleep happening, and she was in almost every scene.”

The actor continued to praise her work ethic, saying: “Sarah was always there and she never flagged, she was never late, she always had a good attitude, she knew her lines, she was a monster.

“And consequently, no one else could relax because she was always just so on point. She was amazing.”

In a recent Instagram post, Gellar excited fans with a sneak peek at the script from their initial pilot table read, sharing images alongside her name card, which stated: “Sarah Michelle Gellar Prinze: ‘Buffy Summers’.”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available to stream on Hulu in the US and ITVX in the UK.