Ryan Kiera Armstrong To Star As New Slayer In 'Buffy' Follow-Up

From Skeleton Crew to the Chosen One, a new adventure may very well begin

Ever since I got into Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 2017, I always felt it would be cool to follow one of the Slayers awakened by Willow’s spell during the events of the 2003 series finale, what at the time would’ve been 15 years on, even if they hadn’t trained right away they’d be seasoned veterans. However nothing like that progressed. What has intrigued Hulu enough for a pilot order from 20th Television and Searchlight TV is a “next chapter” that will feature Sarah Michelle Gellar reprising her role as Buffy Summers in a supporting role to a teenaged Slayer born a few years after that event. And now, Gellar herself, an executive producer as well, has revealed that that Slayer is Star Wars: Skeleton Crew star Ryan Kiera Armstrong.

Gellar shared the Zoom call in an Instagram video post where she revealed to Armstrong that she got the part, and has said she was most impressed by her acting. “I want to introduce you to ryankarmstrong. 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. Welcome to #NewSunnydale” she said.

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“I’m so honored, thank you for trusting me,” a grateful Armstrong said through tears, soon joined by her father, Canadian actor-producer Dean Armstrong. Lilla and Nora Zuckerman, the pilot’s writers also praised the young Armstrong, saying “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.” The character

After recurring on Netflix’s Anne with an E, Armstrong’s first major film role came at age 8 as Zoe in The Art of Racing In the Rain alongside Milo Ventimiglia and Amanda Seyfried. Other films she’d appear in include IT: Part Two, The Tomorrow War, and as Young Antonia Dreykov, who would become Taskmaster in the presentish day of Black Widow, before playing Charlie McGee in the 2022 Firestarter remake. Being part of season 10 of FX’s American Horror Story, specifically its A-side Red Tide apparently got her on 20th TV’s radar and since played Fern on the aforementioned Star Wars: Skeleton Crew She will return to FX recurring opposite Ethan Hawke on the upcoming The Lowdown.

Oscar-winning Eternals and Nomadland director Chloé Zhao, a self-professed lifelong Buffy fan, is set to direct the pilot, as she is under a first-look deal with Searchlight. Zhao via her Book of Shadows banner, and the Zuckermans are set to be executive producers alongside Gail Berman of the Jackal Group and Fran Kuzui & Kaz Kuzui via Suite B who served such part for the original series, as does Dolly Parton, who indeed was a producer of the original series through her company Sandollar. Reportedly, the pilot has set up its writers room, featuring Jessica Jones producer Lisa Randolph and Nancy Drew showrunner Melinda Hsu Taylor, who maintained such position when co-creating its spinoff Tom Swift, as co-executive producers, The Summer I Turned Pretty producer Marty Scott and writer Deborah R. Swisher as supervising producers, executive producer Gabrielle Stanton in the same position here, and Supernatural writer Price Peterson as executive story editor.

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Sources: Deadline, Nexus Point News