Fans fire up over 'black Buffy' as Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot confirmed

Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Photo / Supplied

Everyone's favourite supernatural assassin is returning to TV, with a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot confirmed.

After months of speculation, 20th Century Fox has revealed it is developing a revival of the popular series, with creator Joss Whedon coming on board the project as executive producer.

THR reports the new series will be "inclusive" and feature a black actor as Buffy, who was played by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the original show.

The reboot and casting announcement divided fans on Twitter, with some questioning why a black actor couldn't play a new character.

One wrote: "I'm not interested in seeing a black slayer take on the role of Buffy or even seeing gender and race-bent reboots. It's boring and insulting. We deserve our own mythology."

And others agreed:

honestly joss whedon has no place @ a black buffy reboot. one of the only black characters @ buffy had a bad (and inaccurate) stereotypical accent. all the other black chars had maybe 2 min roles.

— ☆ archived. (@kirasnerys) July 20, 2018

But why reboot Buffy with a black Buffy? Why not a black woman as another slayer who's /not/ Buffy? Like y'all could pretend to have a bit of new idea.

— Your Obnoxious Neighborhood Liberal 🤨 (@VPod07) July 20, 2018

BUFFY DOES NOT NEED A REBOOT YOU LEAVE THAT PERFECT SHOW ALONE

— Angel the Terrible (@angelenazzz) July 20, 2018

The idea of a tv reboot of Buffy in any form makes me really really sad. That show was perfection, meant so much to so many, and should never be touched again.

— Mark Duranceau (@markduranceau) July 20, 2018

I hate all these reboots as it is. But please leave #Buffy well alone. It helped change TV genre. Some things don’t need to be redone, they are fine the way they are. Be creative find something new

— Bread'N'Butter (@queengrimhilde2) July 20, 2018

Monica Breen, who previously worked on Agents of Shield with Whedon, will serve as series showrunner and write the reboot's script.

The reboot hasn't been given an air date and is not yet attached to a network, but is expected to be pitched to streaming services such as Netflix at a later date.

Based on a 1992 movie that bombed at the box office, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a surprise TV hit and ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003.

The popular series made Gellar a household name and launched the careers of Alyson Hannigan, Michelle Trachtenberg and David Boreanaz.