Canadian actress
Ryan Kiera Armstrong (
"Star Wars: Skeleton Crew",
"Firestarter") is set to lead the upcoming
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" reboot series opposite
Sarah Michelle Gellar who will reprise her iconic role as Buffy Summers. The show, which hails from 20th Television and Searchlight TV, has a pilot order at Hulu. Armstrong will play the new slayer in the untitled Buffyverse project. Gellar also executive produces.
Oscar winner
Chloé Zhao will direct the pilot, which is written by
Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, who will also executive produce alongside Gellar and Zhao. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the character played by Armstrong is described in casting materials as an introverted high-school student.
Here's what Gellar had to say about Armstrnong's casting:
"From the moment I saw Ryan's audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side. To have that kind of emotional intelligence, and talent, at such a young age is truly a gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room".
Lilla and Nora Zuckerman added:
"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".
Original series' executive producers
Gail Berman of the Jackal Group and
Fran Kuzui & Kaz Kuzui via Suite B are on board to produce the reboot. Also executive producing the pilot is
Dolly Parton whose company Sandollar produced the original.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" studio 20th Television produces with Disney sibling Searchlight TV, where Zhao is under a first-look deal.
Armstrong has been acting since age 8. Her breakout role was in
"The Art of Racing In the Rain" opposite
Amanda Seyfried, followed by roles in
"IT: Part Two",
"The Tomorrow War",
"The Glorias" and
"Black Widow". She also played the lead in the 2022
Stephen King adaptation
"Firestarter", co-lead opposite
Nicolas Cage in
"The Wold Way" and a main role in
"Wildflower". In television, she started off with a major recurring role on Netflix's
"Anne with an E". She was also cast as part of the main ensemble of FX's
"American Horror Story: Red Tide", in Disney+'s
"Star Wars: Skeleton Crew" and recurring opposite
Ethan Hawke on FX's upcoming
"The Lowdown".
Below you can check out a video posted on Instagram in which Gellar breaks the news to 15-year-old Armstrong that she got the part:
