The Buffy Reboot Vampire Problem That Could Break Returning To The Franchise

The two main characters whom Buffy fans would expect to see come back for a reboot are the vampires Spike and Angel, Buffy’s two most important love interests in the original series. Spike (James Marsters) and Angel (David Boreanaz) are both beloved characters with fantastic redemption arcs and electric chemistry with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy. But as vampires they don’t age, while obviously Marsters and Boreanaz have noticeably aged in the 20 years since the show ended. 

There aren’t many options for the reboot to bring these characters back, especially for more than cameos. The most technical solution to this problem would be to use de-aging technology, though that solution is both expensive and it doesn’t always work well. A more likely option would be to write in a supernatural explanation for the characters’ aging, perhaps connecting it to the open-ended finale of Angel or the fact that both characters are unique in that they have souls. 

Drusilla, played by Juliet Landau, is also subject to these problems. The de-aging solution would work for Drusilla, but since she didn’t regain her soul like Angel and Spike, there are fewer obvious narrative ways to explain her aging. It’s a shame that Drusilla would be very difficult to bring back in a Buffy reboot, since — while there are plenty of opportunities to bring heroic characters from the original back — Drusilla is one of the few fan-favorite villains who survived the events of both Buffy and Angel. 

It’s unknown who, if anyone, will return for the potential reboot but it’s difficult to imagine there won’t be at least some returning cast. Monica Owusu-Breen, who has was attached as the reboot’s showrunner when it was first announced, has stated that the new show would focus on new characters but be set in the same universe. This also raises the question of what counts in that original universe as in addition to Buffy the Vampire Slayer there’s also the spinoff Angel, comics that continued the show’s universe, and even the semi-canonical original Buffy movie. 

It’s also not entirely clear what the status is of the Buffy reboot today. The reboot was announced back in 2018 and the status of the show has been tumultuous ever since. However, executive producer and country superstar Dolly Parton has confirmed that the reboot is still being worked on, though what that actually means is hard to say.