Why A 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' Reboot Would Never Work Today: We Love Vampires, Not Slayers

Television has seen its fair share of vampires over the past decade, and their popularity is undeniable. For the past 25 years, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to #TheVampireDiaries, the undead have occupied a space in primetime television — and even though The Vampire Diaries is ending, you can bet that more vampires will be resurrected to take their place.

But, as the outcry for a Buffy reboot continues, is it possible that television has made the slayer obsolete?

Vampires used to be the bad guys.

In past films and series like Blade, From Dusk Till Dawn, Buffy and Angel, vampires were deadly beings who thirsted for blood and deserved to be staked (unless they had a soul like Angel and could feel remorse for their sins). In the past decade, however, most vampires have changed into heroic figures or individuals deserving of our empathy and compassion. Mick from Moonlight and Henry from Blood Ties are two such examples, but there are many more.

Looking at the upcoming vampire series like Let the Right One In and Midnight, Texas, it seems, once again, that vampires are being depicted as innocent creatures who are trying to make their place in the world without getting staked. Any slayer put into this premise would automatically become the villain.

Granted, the vampires on The Vampire Diaries aren't all peace, love and karma. Sometimes, a slayer might come in handy. However, the main characters like Damon and Stefan have the same emotional capacity as humans. Ergo, they can love, lose and suffer; they live their lives, for the most part, as humans — unlike in Sunnydale where vampires kept to the shadows and only came out in search of a human to snack on.

So with the current television landscape, it seems to make sense that a Buffy reboot wouldn't work — at least, if it were true to the original. Yes, previous Buffy fans would tune in, but would viewers who've watched kinder vampires for the past 10 years? Would they want to see truly evil vampires?

The question may be moot considering Sarah Michelle Gellar's response when discussing a potential Buffy return. As she told the Hollywood Reporter, she hopes Buffy is on a beautiful beach far away from any Hellmouth.

Of course, there's always the possibility of a revamped (no pun intended) Buffy without the original cast, much like the upcoming #Charmed prequel, but the odds of diehard Buffy fans turning in would be slim to none.

For now, it looks like Hollywood has decided that gentler vampires need to hang around for a while longer. To do that, they just can't have a slayer in their midst.