Dolly Parton Says “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Producers Are 'Revamping' Reboot After Failed First Stab

A reboot of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' was originally announced in 2018 before it was put "on pause" four years later

<p>Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Getty</p> Dolly Parton and Sarah Michelle Gellar in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Getty

Dolly Parton and Sarah Michelle Gellar in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

Dolly Parton says all hope is not lost for Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot.

The country superstar — who was an uncredited producer on the original series through her company Sandollar Entertainment — revealed that a reboot of the supernatural drama series is still in the works after it was initially put on the backburner in 2022.

“They’re still working on that,” Parton, 78, told Business Insider of the reboot. “They’re thinking about bringing it back and revamping it."

<p>Jason Kempin/Getty</p> Dolly Parton attends Dolly Parton's Rockstar VIP Album Release Party with American Greetings on November 16, 2023

Jason Kempin/Getty

Dolly Parton attends Dolly Parton's Rockstar VIP Album Release Party with American Greetings on November 16, 2023

Related: 'Buffy' Reunion! Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seth Green and Emma Caulfield Hang at Ed Sheeran Concert


Parton noted that she was “very involved” behind the scenes of the original series, despite living in Nashville while the show was filmed in Los Angeles.

"A lot of my work was done just conversing back and forth with the business people there," she explained.

"I have to give more people more credit on Buffy the Vampire Slayer than me. A lot of people did so much sweat on that," she continued. "That little show did great.”

<p>20th Century Fox Television/Kobal/Shutterstock </p> Buffy the Vampire Slayer's James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, Michelle Trachtenberg and Sarah Michelle Gellar

20th Century Fox Television/Kobal/Shutterstock

Buffy the Vampire Slayer's James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, Michelle Trachtenberg and Sarah Michelle Gellar

Related: Melanie Lynskey Admits She Turned Down Role on 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer': I 'Was Not Sure'

Original series lead Sarah Michelle Gellar also confirmed the "Jolene" singer’s involvement in a February 2023 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, saying, "Yes, little-known fact. The legend Dolly Parton was a producer."

“We never saw her [but] we’d get Christmas gifts in the beginning that would have our name, and I would think, ‘She doesn’t even know who I am,’” she added. “And then one day, someone asked her about it, and she complimented the show and my performance. I was like, ‘Oh, I can die now. Dolly Parton knows who I am and thinks I’m good.’”

A revival of the beloved series was first announced in July 2018 with Joss Whedon attached as an executive producer. He previously wrote the 1992 film and created the beloved WB series of the same name that ran for 7 seasons from 1997 to 2003.

A network was not attached at the time of the announcement. However, Monica Owusu-Breen, who worked with Whedon on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., was set to serve as showrunner and head writer. The series was also set to star a Black actress in the lead role, but Owusu-Breen clarified: "There is only one Buffy."

20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar

Related: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Cast: Where Are They Now?

"They can't be replaced. Joss Whedon's brilliant and beautiful series can't be replicated. I wouldn't try to," she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) in July 2018. "But here we are, twenty years later... And the world seems a lot scarier. So maybe, it could be time to meet a new slayer."

In August 2022, executive producer Gail Berman told The Hollywood Reporter on its TV Top 5 podcast that the reboot had been put “on pause.”

Last year, Gellar, 46, shared that she was not interested in reprising the titular role, telling SFX Magazine via Movieweb,  “I am very proud of the show that we created and it doesn’t need to be done. We wrapped that up.”

“I am all for them continuing the story, because there’s the story of female empowerment,” she continued. “I love the way the show was left: ‘Every girl who has the power can have the power.’ It’s set up perfectly for someone else to have the power.”

“But like I said, the metaphors of ‘Buffy’ were the horrors of adolescence. I think I look young, but I am not an adolescent,” she added.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer can be streamed in full on Hulu. 

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.