By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The titular heroine’s new protégé has been cast.
Variety reports that Ryan Kiera Armstrong will play the lead in the pilot for a new BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER series to stream on Hulu. The reboot of the classic WB/UPN show sees original star Sarah Michelle Gellar returning as Buffy, with Armstrong taking on the mantle of the new Slayer. Oscar-winner Chloe Zhao will direct with Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman writing and serving as showrunners; the trio are also executive producers along with Gellar, Dolly Parton, Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui, the latter four returning from the first series.
“From the moment I saw Ryan’s audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side,” Gellar wrote on Instagram, accompanying the video in which she told Armstrong she had won the part. “To have that kind of emotional intelligence, and talent, at such a young age is truly gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room.”
“We are so overjoyed to have found this generation’s slayer in Ryan Kiera Armstrong, she absolutely blew us away–there is no question in our mind that she is the chosen one,” the Zuckermans said. Armstrong played the lead role of Charlie in 2022’s FIRESTARTER, and has also been seen in IT: CHAPTER TWO, BLACK WIDOW, THE TOMORROW WAR and the series AMERICAN HORROR STORY and SKELETON CREW.
