Hulu’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot has officially unveiled the name of its new slayer: Nova.
Earlier this year, Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Sarah Michelle Gellar confirmed that Ryan Kiera Armstrong (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew) would step into the lead role for the reboot, with Gellar herself returning in a recurring capacity. At the time, Armstrong’s character name was being kept under wraps, but Deadline now reports that she will portray Nova, a fitting choice given the name means “new” in Latin.
In additional casting news, young actor Kingston Vernes (So Cold the River) has been tapped to play Carson, a charismatic Junior Olympian and popular student who will become the object of Nova’s affection. Unlike previous one-off casting announcements, Vernes is reportedly set to appear in a recurring role.
More details also emerged this week about the reboot’s core ensemble, seemingly forming the new ‘Scooby Gang’, a callback to the original series. The confirmed cast currently includes Sarah Bock (Severance) as Gracie, Nova’s best friend, Ava Jean (Law & Order: SVU) as Larkin, Faly Rakotohavana (Secret Society of Second-Born Royals) as Hugo, another close friend who harbours a crush on Nova, Daniel di Tomasso (Major Crimes) as Abe, and Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier) as the enigmatic Mr. Burke, a new school librarian reminiscent of Rupert Giles from the original series.
According to reports, a writer’s room has been assembled, and if Hulu gives the green light following the pilot, full production on season one is expected to begin in March 2026.
As of now, no other legacy characters beyond Buffy herself have been confirmed to return. However, Gellar, who is also serving as an executive producer on the project, has expressed interest in bringing back more fan-favourite faces. One such possibility is Charisma Carpenter (The Expendables), who played Cordelia Chase in the original series and its spin-off Angel. Carpenter recently told IGN she would be open to reprising her role, especially after what she described as an “unjust” send-off for her character.
Conversation with Ting Wei is like chatting with a weird AI bot programmed only with One Piece lore and theories, sitcom quotes and other miscellaneous pop culture references. When he’s not sleeping, he’s highly likely reading manga. In fact, the only thing he reads more than manga is the Bible, and it’s honestly pretty close.
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