Joss Whedon has no place in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival

In every generation there’s a Chosen One … and another reboot. 

Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer received good news in 2018 when it was officially announced that a revival series of the show was in the early stages of development. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any new information about the project since then. This is due to multiple factors including delays from the pandemic, Disney’s purchase of Fox and allegations of abuse against creator Joss Whedon. 

All that’s been confirmed about the new series is that Whedon will return as executive producer and producer Monica Owusu-Breen — with no previous ties to Buffy — will serve as the new showrunner. 

However, a new novel set in the Buffy universe was published by Disney Hyperion this January – two months from the show’s 25th anniversary. This is the first time a massive media conglomerate like Disney has acknowledged the intellectual property that is Buffy since the original show ran which makes it likely that the revival series will follow the premise of the novel written by Kendare Blake, titled In Every Generation. The 2018 announcement semi-confirms this theory, noting that the revival would be a sequel with a new Slayer rather than a reboot with all the original characters. 

Rather than tampering with the original Buffy series and its iconic characters, I think it was wise to opt for a modern-day sequel of the show. It may mean that the new Slayer and Scooby-gang won’t speak with the same 90s teenage jargon or wear bellbottoms to class, but it’s a welcome opportunity to get rid of the subtle misogyny embedded within its fabric. Joss Whedon, then, should have no part in it. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was released in 1997, while Hollywood was rife with toxic masculinity and abuses of power. Men like Whedon weren’t held accountable for their actions before the mid-2010s and the cultural shift of the #MeToo movement. As a result, Whedon created a toxic environment on various sets he worked on throughout his career. 

In a statement posted to Twitter last year, Charisma Carpenter (who played Cordelia on Buffy) opened up about being Whedon’s target of abuse. She noted that whenever she failed to meet one of his unrealistic demands, he would not only verbally abuse her but punish her character as well. You may notice when re-watching now that Cordelia is consistently tortured throughout the entirety of Buffy. She’s either the victim of nearly every demonic attack or verbally abused by male characters like Xander, who Whedon clearly wants us to root for. 

At some point throughout the show, every female character seems to suffer just for the sake of it. Ironically, even Buffy — our mighty, feminist heroine — isn’t completely spared by Whedon’s projected misogyny. Now that the Buffyverse is being introduced to a new audience, it’s a perfect opportunity to leave that toxicity behind. 

Showrunner Owusu-Breen also promised in the 2018 announcement that the new sequel would include more racial diversity than the original series, starting with a Black female lead. In the original series, there are very few BIPOC characters and they’re either evil or quickly killed off. Seeing as the revival show plans on improving outdated issues like this, it would be a shame to risk having Whedon’s cycle of misogyny persist by keeping him on board. 

Unfortunately, the source material doesn’t offer much hope either. Though In Every Generation has a decent score of 3.89 stars on Goodreads, several reviewers have expressed displeasure at some problematic elements from the original show resurfacing. One reviewer, “TJ,” said the female protagonist feels “basic” and “is constantly saved by men.” Additionally, the strong female protagonists from the original show are killed off-page within the first 20 pages. 

I’m saddened by this. Though Whedon didn’t write the novel, it’s clear how his misogynistic writing in the show has misshaped fans’ understanding of female characters in the Buffyverse. It’s toxic. 

Some may say that Whedon is the genius behind Buffy and a revival can’t be successful without him. While it’s true that he helped squash some major negative stereotypes about women at the time, he also upheld many that have no place in modern, feminist TV. It’s also true that Whedon won’t have any writing power as executive producer, but why risk staining the reboot with his presence at all? The new creators have an opportunity to set a new standard by simply excluding him. They can show audiences that they won’t tolerate the abuse Whedon has shown his actors. 

If this cycle is to change, Whedon needs to be removed from the project. Naming Owusu-Breen as showrunner is a great start, but Buffy’s revival can’t ever say it’s entirely separated from the original series without shedding a major problem from its past. There may not be a date for the revival’s premiere yet, but I’m ready to see a new slayer who can love both lipstick and slaying without having to suffer for it.