Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar has given fans a promising update on the series’ upcoming reboot, which has just held its first table read.
Gellar, who serves as an executive producer and will also star in the series’ new pilot episode, joined other cast members and crew this Monday, July 21, for a read-through of the episode’s script, as seen in a couple of behind the scenes photos posted on Instagram.
Now, resourceful fans are attempting to analyse that script for clues, via a classic case of enhancing images — and believe they may have worked out the names of some key characters.
Behind the scenes photos show Gellar’s script for the episode, simply titled Episode 101 “Pilot”. Curiously, however, the name of the reboot series has been censored by Gellar — is it not called Buffy the Vampire Slayer anymore?
But fans are more interested in the reverse of the script’s top page, which appears to feature a list of characters seen in the episode. Buffy herself looks to be at the top of the list, as Buffy “Anne” Summers, and fans say they can then see a number of other names — including Poppy, Hugo, Gracie, and Mr. Burke.
Intriguingly, several of these names were previously noted in a casting breakdown, leaked back in March by entertainment industry insider Daniel Richtman.
Gracie was reported to be the best friend of the series’ new lead character played by young actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong (more on her in a moment). Gracie is also apparently a fan of Buffy — a figure who is presumably now famous after repeatedly saving the world.
Hugo was reported to be a “nerd from a wealthy family” who has a crush on Armstrong’s character. Mr. Burke, meanwhile, was reported to be the new school librarian — stepping into the same shoes as Giles in the original series.
That leak named Armstrong’s main character as “Nova”, whereas fans say the pilot episode’s script looks to list her as “Poppy” — with top billing just under Sarah Michelle Gellar herself. So what’s going on here — will it be Nova or Poppy, or something else? For now, we don’t know — though it’s not unusual for character names to change during pre-production, or be obscured with codenames to avoid leaks such as this.
“I love the name Poppy,” wrote one fan. “Honestly, Poppy as a Slayer would be hilarious,” wrote another in response.
As for why Buffy herself is credited as Buffy “Anne” Summers, fans have suggested the Slayer is once again attempting to operate under the radar, and using her middle name as pseudonym once again.
Gellar previously said that she wanted the reboot to bring back the show’s original cast of characters — including “everyone who has died.” Speaking to IGN, Charisma Carpenter, star of Buffy and its spin-off Angel, has said she was hopeful of a role in the franchise’s upcoming reboot, despite her character Cordelia’s “unjust” demise.
Image credit: Maya Dehlin Spach/Getty Images
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
