Monica Owusu-Breen, the writer for the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer show, has said she has no intentions to replicate Josh Whedon’s series.
Following the announcement at San Diego’s Comic-Con last week that Buffy the Vampire slayer would get a “reboot”, many fans reacted to the news negatively.
In a tweet, Owusu-Breen started to address concerns by saying that she was a fan of the show before she was a writer.
“Before I became a writer, I was a fan. For seven seasons, I watched Buffy Summers grow up, find love, kill that love. I watched her fight, and struggle and slay.”
Owusu-Breen added: “There is only one Buffy. One Xander, one Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Oz, Tara, Kendra, Faith, Spike, Angel…They can’t be replaced.”
“Josh Whedon’s brilliant and beautiful series can’t be replicated. I wouldn’t try to.”
— monicaowusubreen (@monicabreen) July 26, 2018
The writer said that a new Buffy was needed to reflect the world as it is now, saying: “But here we are, twenty years later…And the world seems a lot scarier. So maybe, it could be time to meet a new Slayer.”
Meanwhile, fans reacted positively to the news on social media:
THIS. THIS. THIS. THIS. As a fellow Buffy-inspired TV writer, I am beyond happy to hear you express this. Thank you for igniting hope where doubt started to fester. So excited to see how you continue the legacy.
— Chris Rafferty (@chris_rafferty) July 26, 2018
I am so excited to see what you bring to life.
— Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (@LizAlps) July 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/SarahWatson42/status/1022537122731966464
Welcome to the #Buffy family, @monicabreen! I know I can’t wait to learn more about the inclusive vision you and @joss have for today’s Slayer, fighting today’s battles in an even bigger world. #butdontmakeherarobot #engage https://t.co/nEWYKM5dhR
— Clare Kramer (@ClareKramer) July 26, 2018
I am ready to give this reboot a chance! BtVS was everything to me. I would love for my daughter to have her own slayer & scooby gang to grow up with. pic.twitter.com/zcQmiuWYkQ
— Shelby O (@shelbyO72) July 26, 2018
At last week’s Comic-Con, it was revealed that original series creator Josh Whedon is already on board as an executive producer.
Owusu-Breen, who worked with Whedon previously on Agents of SHIELD, has previously written and produced shows such as Charmed, Alias and Brothers & Sisters.
The reboot was described by producers last week as “contemporary, building on the mythology of the original.”
“Like our world, it will be richly diverse, and like the original, some aspects of the series could be seen as metaphors for issues facing us all today.”
According to Variety, the new reboot will be more diverse and see a black actress take over the title role made famous originally by Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Whilst the show hasn’t been signed to a network yet, Variety has reported that original show creators, 20th Century Fox Television, will develop the new series via Fox 21 TV Studios who will pitch the reboot to potential networks later this year.