"In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer." Anyone who ever watched Joss Whedon's supernatural coming-of-age series Buffy The Vampire Slayer knows the iconic lines — and knows that, for six years and 144 episodes, they referred to the one and only Sarah Michelle Gellar. But now, with a new Disney+ bound Buffy reboot officially in the works, a new generation is upon us, and with it comes a new chosen one. And now we know who that chosen one will be: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew star Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
Per Deadline's reporting, Armstrong — whose impressive CV at just 15 years of age already includes a starring role opposite Nicolas Cage in The Old Way, a series regular slot on Netflix's Anne With An E, and a compelling lead turn in the above mentioned Star Wars show — is set to star alongside Gellar in the upcoming reboot, written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman (Poker Face) and boasting Oscar winner Chloé Zhao as pilot director. Precious little is known about what the next chapter in the Buffyverse has in store just yet, or indeed how Armstrong's new slayer will be introduced, but the Instagram video of Gellar breaking the news to her successor that she's landed the lead does offer up a couple of morsels of info. Firstly, Gellar asks Armstrong, "Do you want to save the world with me?", suggesting a master-apprentice sort of relationship may be in the offing when Buffy Summers returns; and secondly, perhaps most intriguingly, Gellar later says "Welcome to New Sunnydale". As fans of the OG series will be well aware, Buffy and her pals' hometown of Sunnydale was swallowed whole during the finale of the original run, making reference to a 'New Sunnydale' curiosity piquing. Is it a new town built where the old one fell? And if so, how has a new Hellmouth opened where the last collapsed? Hmm...
“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,” said the Zuckermans in a statement accompanying Armstrong's casting. And for now, that's just about all we know about the reboot that everyone's been asking for and that nobody, not even SMG herself, could've expected. Hold onto your stakes, Scoobies — Buffy's coming back, and she's bringing reinforcements!