Fox Rebooting Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon Involved

20th Century Fox Television is rebooting Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Joss Whedon involved in the series. THR reports that Fox TV has tapped Monica Owusu-Breen (LOST, Fringe, Agents of SHIELD) to write the new series, with Whedon working alongside her and executive producing. Owusu-Breen has experience in the field of vampires, having created and served as showrunner for the first season of Midnight, Texas on NBC.

The new version of the iconic cult series will see a black actress playing the lead role. Buffy was previously played by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the television series, and Kristy Swanson in the 1992 film. The series will, the site says, “be contemporary and build on the mythology of the original.” Casting has not taken place and no script or director is set at this time.

Gail Berman, Joe Earley, Fran Kazui and Kaz Kazui will also executive produce. As of now, no network is attached, and the reboot will be shopped to networks and streaming services later this summer. At this time, it isn’t sure how much involvement Whedon directly have beyond the initial development, as he has his own series that is getting off the ground at HBO, titled The Nevers.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a pop culture touchstone in the late 1990s and early 2000s, helping to start television’s renewed association with genre programming. It ran for seven season and spawned a spinoff, Angel, that ran for five seasons. The series starred Gellar as the head of an ensemble cast that included Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, Seth Green, James Marsters, Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, Amber Benson, and Kristine Sutherland.