Sarah Michelle Gellar Reveals Kathryn Newton Was Set to Star in the Buffy Reboot
Gellar’s Ready or Not 2 co-star would have appeared in the now-cancelled reboot
By Alex Kaan 22 March 2026
Getty
Sarah Michelle Gellar has revealed that her Ready or Not 2: Here I Come co-star Kathryn Newton was going to appear in the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot.
Speaking to BBC Radio 2, Gellar explained that the Lisa Frankenstein actress was originally supposed to feature in the pilot episode, but due to scheduling conflicts, she was set to appear later in the Chloé Zhao-helmed series. “You know who was supposed to be in the new Buffy reboot, but was not available and was going to be brought in later? She [Newton] might be sitting next to me.” Moreover, Newton’s Ready or Not 2 character pays homage to Buffy, with her costume and hair resembling a Sarah Michelle Gellar look in the pilot of the cult series.
20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures
The news comes a week after Gellar announced on her Instagram that Hulu was no longer moving forward with the reboot. The I Know What You Did Last Summer actress told People how she unceremoniously received the news at the SXSW premiere of Ready or Not 2, which, like Buffy, falls under the parent company of Disney. “I got the call as we were stepping onto stage for the premiere of their own movie. And it’s also the weekend of 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.”
Gellar also told the magazine about an internal conflict on the reboot. “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 and Newton can be seen in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, which is in theatres now. Read our review from SXSW.