Chase Sui Wonders is set to star in the highly anticipated Buffy reboot, bringing fresh energy to the beloved series.
Chase Sui Wonders Joins the Buffy Reboot
The rumors are true! Chase Sui Wonders will appear in the upcoming Buffy reboot, which has received a pilot order from Hulu.
Production Insights from Chase Sui Wonders
In an interview with Deadline, Wonders revealed that she is currently filming the new Buffy pilot in Los Angeles, the original filming location of the series. She connected with Sarah Michelle Gellar while working on I Know What You Did Last Summer.
“Sarah Michelle Gellar is just such a force to be reckoned with,” Wonders stated. “We became fast friends on I Know What You Did Last Summer. She’s an incredible woman and just a cool person, and she asked me if I wanted to do it. Then she told me about Chloe Zhao directing and the Zuckermans showrunning. Eric Kissack, who is our editor on The Studio, is also editing the Buffy series.”
The New Buffy Storyline
The new Buffy reboot follows Buffy Summers (Gellar) as she trains high school student Nova (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) to become the new vampire slayer.
Wonders has kept details about her character under wraps, but it is known that her name is Shirley and that she will have a one-off guest role. She shared, “It’s a very fun way to enter this series, and [Gellar] is on set every day, from as soon as we start to when we wrap. She’s very hands-on.”
Diving into the Buffy Universe
Since joining the project, Wonders has immersed herself in the Buffy universe. “I’ve watched the entirety of the [original] series, so I’m really living inside Sunnydale at the moment. It’s very cool and surreal to see young Sarah Michelle just be a total badass, which I knew, but it’s cool to see that she’s been a badass for a long time.”
She added, “It’s the dream to bring back a show like this, to have someone who was there day in and day out through the origin of the series be the consultant. She’s the onset consultant for all kinds of things like how to react to these types of vampires, or how someone reacts to a bite, and all the lore she’s got stored in her brain. So, it’s very helpful.”
Chase Sui Wonders: A Rising Star
Wonders is a rising star in both film and television. This year, she starred as Quinn, an up-and-coming executive in Apple TV+’s Seth Rogen-led comedy series The Studio, which received 23 Emmy nominations last month, and as Ava in I Know What You Did Last Summer. She first broke out as Riley in the HBO Max series Generation, followed by the role of Emma in the Halina Reijn comedy-horror film Bodies Bodies Bodies.
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Of working with Zhao, who is directing the Buffy reboot pilot, Wonders said, “Upon first meeting her, I was like, this woman is very heart-on-her-sleeve, and she has a very unique approach to filmmaking. You can tell that her roots are in naturalistic indie filmmaking with non-actors. The Rider was a total masterpiece. To work with her on this fantastical series is really fun. She’s incredible.”
Supporting Cast and Production Team
The previously announced series regulars include Faly Rakatohavana (Unprisoned), Ava Jean (Law & Order: SVU), Sarah Bock (Severance), Daniel Di Tomasso (CSI: Vegas), and Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier), along with guest star Kingston Vernes (The Survivor).
Rakotohavana will portray Hugo, a privileged high schooler, while Jean will play Larkin, described as a “chronic do-gooder.” Bock will play Gracie, the ringleader of a group of church-going students. Di Tomasso will portray Abe, Nova’s single father who is a photojournalist, and Scott will play Mr. Burke, a popular high school teacher. Vernes will play Carson, a student at New Sunnydale Academy who is the object of Nova’s crush.
The reboot is produced by Buffy the Vampire Slayer studio 20th Television and Searchlight TV, where Zhao has a first-look deal.
Gellar is executive producing alongside Zhao via her Book of Shadows banner, along with Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, and the original series’ EPs Gail Berman of the Jackal Group, Fran Kuzui & Kaz Kuzui via Suite B, and Dolly Parton, whose company Sandollar produced the original.
