Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the best supernatural teen dramas in TV history, and has a cult following decades after its 2003 series finale. Fans of the series (which is streaming with a Hulu subscription) were thrilled when a revival series New Sunnydale was ordered. But Hulu changed its mind and dropped the new Buffy, and it turns out that Spike actor James Marsters was doing "thousands" of sit ups to get his signature abs in shape for the cancelled series.
Marsters had ideas about bringing back Spike shortly after New Sunnydale was announced, to the joy of fans. Unfortunately that Hulu revival isn't happening, and it turns out that the PS I Love You actor was actually preparing to appear as the Buffy antagonist turned ally. While speaking on Streamily (via Instagram) Marsters admitted that he was getting back into shape to play Spike again, saying:
I had heard that they were planning on having Spike come back, and I was getting ready for that. I was doing so many thousands of sit ups to get ready for that. And it doesn't look like this iteration is happening.
While time has passed for everyone in the cast, there was one thing that James Marsters could to prepare to play his signature role: working out. Spike was a gay awakening for many LGBTQ+ folks in the '90s, largely thanks to his washboard abs that were on display various times throughout his tenure on Buffy. As such, the 63 year-old actor was doing a ton of sit ups... before New Sunnydale ended up being dropped by the streamer.
When the Buffy revival was announced by Sarah Michell Gellar, the internet exploded. After the pilot presentation, a full season was announced... but eventually Hulu did an aboutface and changed its mind. Later in the same clip, Marsters spoke about the idea of Buffy still coming back eventually, offering:
I am reading articles like many of you are and I did hear that Sarah is open to doing Buffy in another iteration possibly. I don't know, I haven't talked to her about it. And I also heard Disney is open to having another iteration.
Fingers crossed. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a cult classic, and it's remained a vital part of pop culture in the decades since leaving the air. So if Sarah Michelle Gellar wants to try for another reboot, hopefully there's hope that we'll get more episodes eventually. As James Marsters went on:
So there's still hope that there may be a reboot in the future, but maybe not as soon as we were all hoping
We should be so lucky. The fact that Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, was given a full series order and then promptly dropped caused some emotional whiplash for the generations of fans out there. Luckily we can re-watch the show's original seven seasons... and hold out hope that a revival will happen eventually.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel are both streaming on Hulu, both of which feature James Marsters. He recently reprised his role for Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, which is available on Audible.
