Oscar winner Chloé Zhao is directing the pilot, written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman. No further information has been provided about the project, which is being billed as the next chapter in the Buffyverse and is coming from 20th Television and Searchlight TV. The character Armstrong (pictured) is playing is described in the casting notes as an introverted high school student.
There is some symbolism in Armstrong’s casting as Geller’s spiritual successor—the actresses, Ryan Kiera Armstrong and Sarah Michelle Gellar, share a similar cadence. But it was Armstrong’s performance that landed her the role, Gellar said.
“From the moment I saw Ryan’s audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side,” she said. “To have that kind of emotional intelligence, and talent, at such a young age is truly a gift. The bonus is that her smile lights up even the darkest room”
Gellar also made a video in which she told 15-year-old Armstrong the news that she got the part. You can watch the video below.
“I’m so honored, thank you for trusting me,” elated Armstrong said through tears when Gellar welcomed her to new Sunnydale. She was then joined by her father, Canadian actor-producer Dean Armstrong.
Lilla and Nora Zuckerman used some Buffy terminology to praise Armstrong.
“We are so overjoyed to have found this generation’s slayer in Ryan Kiera Armstrong, she absolutely blew us away — there is no question in our mind that she is the chosen one,” they said.
On television, Armstrong got her start with a major recurring role on Netflix’s Anne with an E. Armstrong first came to 20th TV’s attention when the studio cast her as part of the main cast of FX series American Horror Story: Double Feature (she appeared in the first of two stories that season, titled Red Tide). She starred opposite Jude Law in Disney+’s Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and has a recurring role opposite Ethan Hawke in FX’s upcoming series The Lowdown.
