The reboot of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is not moving forward at Hulu, Variety has confirmed. Sarah Michelle Gellar revealed the news on Instagram.

“I am really sad to have to share this, but I wanted you all to hear it from me. Unfortunately, Hulu has decided not to move forward with ‘Buffy: New Sunnydale,’” she said in a video posted Saturday. “I want to thank Chloé Zhao, because I never thought I would find myself back in Buffy’s stylish yet affordable boots. And thanks to Chloé, I was reminded how much I love her and how much she means not only to me but to all of you. And this doesn’t change any of that, and I promise if the apocalypse actually comes, you can still beep me.”

The “Buffy” sequel series was first announced in February 2025 as a pilot order at Hulu. “Hamnet” director Zhao was set to direct and executive-produce the new iteration, which was set up at 20th Television and Searchlight Television.

The project, titled “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale,” would have starred Ryan Kiera Armstrong as the new slayer, with original series star Gellar reprising her role as Buffy in a recurring capacity. The pilot also starred Faly Rakotohavana as Hugo, Ava Jean as Larkin, Sarah Bock as Gracie, Daniel di Tomasso as Abe and Jack Cutmore-Scott as Mr. Burke.

A source close to the show indicated that despite the reboot not moving forward, there is a “lot of love” for “Buffy,” and the streamer will still consider future iterations on the IP: “Basically, the door is still open.”

Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman were attached to write, showrun and executive produce “New Sunnydale,” with EPs Gellar, Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui, Kaz Kuzui and Dolly Parton. Original series creator Joss Whedon was not involved in the reboot.

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” originated as a 1992 film directed by Fran Kuzui and written by Whedon, with Kristy Swanson starring in the title role. Five years later, a series adaptation starring Gellar was launched on The WB. The show ran for seven seasons and also starred Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, Seth Green and James Marsters. Boreanaz went on to lead the spinoff series “Angel” at The WB for five seasons.

In March 2026, as the smoke cleared over Tehran following the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran’s leadership, Russia’s response was strikingly restrained. Despite a 20-year strategic partnership treaty signed with Tehran just last year, Moscow limited its reaction to condemnation and calls for diplomacy. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russia had received no request from Iran for military assistance. “There were no requests from Iran in this case,” Peskov told reporters on March 5th.

For analysts who study the relationship between Moscow and Tehran, the moment felt familiar. “The relationship has always been transactional,” said Ksenia Svetlova, executive director of the Regional Organization for Peace, Economy and Security (ROPES) and an associate fellow at Chatham House. “Russia does what serves its own interests.”

While Iran and Russia have moved closer in recent years — particularly after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — experts say the partnership has never resembled a true alliance. Instead, they say, it reflects a long history of cooperation shaped by convenience, rivalry and shifting geopolitical needs.

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The Shadow of Turkmenchay

The uneasy relationship between the two powers stretches back nearly two centuries. In 1828, the Treaty of Turkmenchay forced Persia to cede large parts of the Caucasus to the Russian Empire after a military defeat. The treaty remains one of the most painful symbols of foreign domination in Iranian political memory.

In the twentieth century, Russia’s relationship with Iran shifted dramatically. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Moscow maintained relatively stable ties with Iran under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. “It actually had good relations with the Shah who visited Moscow after World War II,” Svetlova said.

“But Communist Russia was very suspicious of Islamist Iran after the 1979 revolution,” said Svetlova. It was a mutual distrust; Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini denounced both Cold War superpowers, calling the United States the “Great Satan” and the Soviet Union the “Lesser Satan.” 

Even during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, the Soviet Union maintained ties with Tehran while simultaneously supplying weapons to Iraq. “The Soviet Union was very suspicious of Islamist Iran,” Svetlova said. “Even after the revolution, the relationship could not really be considered an alliance.”

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The Drone Marriage

In recent years, however, geopolitical pressures pushed the two countries closer together. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 created new military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. 

Though Russia and Iran have not shared a land border since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, they remain “neighbors” via the Caspian Sea. This “blue border” became a vital artery in 2022 when Iran supplied the Shahed-series drones used in Ukraine, that Russia has used extensively in attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward, a retired Navy SEAL and former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, said the partnership has had direct consequences on the battlefield. “Sadly, the world is just now getting a taste of Iranian drones. But there’s one group that already knows them well, the Christians in Ukraine,” Harward said. “Close to 600 Ukrainian churches have been destroyed by Russian attacks, including from the Iranian Shahed drones.”

Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition and a former deputy assistant secretary of state, argued that Russia’s continued use of Iranian drones against Ukrainian targets underscores the depth of the military relationship, while its calls for restraint in the current conflict highlight a fundamental contradiction. “If Russia were serious about peace, we would see a ceasefire with Ukraine months ago,” she said. “Yet, Putin continues to attack Ukrainian cities, churches and civilians with Iranian drones day after day.”

And yet, Russia’s dependence on Iranian drones during the early stages of the Ukraine war has also diminished as Moscow built its own production capacity. A report cited by the Washington Post found that Russia has “transitioned from importing Iranian Shahed drones to mass-manufacturing them” under the name Geran-2.

Limits and Intelligence

War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that Russia “should not be involved” in the escalating conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, as reports that Russia has provided information that could help Iran identify U.S. military assets in the Middle East emerged. Moscow has not publicly confirmed the claims. 

“I believe Russia is providing Iran intelligence to more effectively target Americans, our allies and partners in the CENTCOM region,” said Lt. Gen. Richard Y. Newton III, a retired Air Force officer who served as assistant vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force. “It’s absolutely clear Russia is not our friend.”

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“They are doing for the Iranians without spending money, spending troops or spending equipment,” Svetlova added. “They share knowledge. They supplied the Iranians with a target list, basically, through their satellites – American targets, but also air targets in the Gulf and Iraq.”

Harward argued that confronting this growing cooperation requires a broader strategy. “If we want to break the threat of the increasingly dangerous Russian-Iranian alliance, we need to fully decimate Iran’s capabilities to threaten our allies and the United States – and we need to continue to support Ukraine and get Europeans to do their part,” he said.

Filipetti remains skeptical of Moscow’s role as a mediator. “The idea that Russia would call on the U.S. and Israel to cease military operations against the regime in Iran and suggest that we should negotiate is absurd,” Filipetti said.

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Although Russia is falling short of helping Iran in a straightforward military way, experts say the cooperation in the world of intelligence has been profound. 

Ultimately, Newton argued that Russia’s actions should be viewed through the lens of President Vladimir Putin’s broader geopolitical goals. “Putin only does what serves Putin, and right now escalating the war in the Middle East and driving up oil prices only serves his interests so he can continue to fund his war machine against Ukraine,” he said.

The Israeli military has been pursuing a new war tactic in targeting checkpoints set up in the Iranian capital by the paramilitary Basij force as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the United States launch more attacks.

The heavily armed checkpoints, roadblocks and patrols have been ramping up in Tehran and across the country in the aftermath of thousands being killed during January’s nationwide protests, and particularly since the start of the ongoing war over two weeks ago.

IRGC-affiliated media confirmed that drone strikes have been hitting the heavily armed checkpoints since Wednesday night, killing and wounding a number of Basij members.

A funeral was held on Friday in the province of Semnan for Morteza Darbari, who was described by the IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency as the commander of a local Basij force based in a mosque in Tehran. He was killed while commanding an armed checkpoint in southeastern District 15.

Footage from the funeral of another killed member, Mohammad-Hossein Kouchaki, was aired by state media on Saturday, showing his family members, surrounded by his fellow Basij fighters armed with assault rifles, promising revenge.

“Both those [dissidents] inside and outside the country, their fate is clear, we will slay them all,” said Kouchaki’s mother at the event. “We will give martyrs on our path but will not bow down. No compromise, no surrender, battle until victory, sacrifice for Mojtaba Khamenei”.

Kouchaki was reported to have been killed in a drone strike in northeastern Tehran, for which the Israeli army confirmed responsibility by releasing footage. The site of the attack was close to where a major fuel depot was bombed days earlier amid wider Israeli attacks hitting Iranian oil reserves.

The state-run Fars news agency said checkpoints have also been similarly targeted in multiple other districts of the sprawling city, and that state forces are responding through “new and creative plans” to adapt to the strikes, and by increasing their patrols.

Intelligence ‘from Iranians’

According to unnamed sources cited by multiple Western news outlets, Israeli commanders have partly acted based on intelligence sent to them by Iranians who have been filming the roadblocks and sending messages through social media.

Videos coming out of Iran continue to be circulated on social media, despite a near-total internet shutdown now being imposed by the theocratic establishment for a 16th day, which has created a black market for the few proxy connections to the outside world that still work.

The state had also imposed a 20-day total internet blackout in response to the protests in January, meaning that more than 90 million Iranians have now spent more than a third of 2026 without access to the global internet. Satellite television dishes found in most homes are the only other alternatives to state media, but those have been disrupted with jamming signals by the authorities, as well.

Through state media, the political, military and judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic have been issuing threats of reprisal against any form of dissent, which could be construed as functioning in line with the interests of the US and Israel.

The police chief, an IRGC commander and state television hosts have all emphasised over the past week that people who take to the streets against the establishment will be treated as an “enemy”.

The judiciary announced on Saturday that any “rioters” who are arrested while acting against the establishment will have their assets confiscated in order to “compensate a part of the damages suffered during the war” with the US and Israel. Multiple people have already been arrested for trying to film missile impact sites and roadblocks, with authorities continuing to promise strict punishments.

This comes days after the judiciary said Iranians living outside the country will also have their assets confiscated if they engage in anti-establishment activities like participating in rallies calling for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s US-backed shah, who was overthrown in a 1979 Islamic revolution.

War could drag on for weeks

Pahlavi released a video message on Saturday to say that he has a team in place for a “transition period” away from the Islamic Republic.

In lockstep with US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he has called on Iranians to remain vigilant in their homes until a suitable time arrives to take to the streets.

The Israeli military has also characterised its strikes on the roadblocks in Tehran, as well as numerous Basij, IRGC and police bases across the country, as an attempt to weaken Iranian authorities’ domestic security apparatus.

“These forces led the regime’s primary efforts to suppress internal protests, particularly in recent months, employing severe violence, ‌mass ⁠arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators,” the military said last week.

Speaking on Fox News Radio on Friday, Trump said the establishment in Iran will eventually fall, but “maybe not immediately”.

“They literally have people in the streets with machinegun, machine-gunning people down if they want to protest,” Trump claimed, referring to Iran’s state security forces.

“That’s a pretty big hurdle to climb for people that don’t have weapons,” he said about anti-establishment Iranians, adding that the military strikes will continue.

Both sides of the conflict have said the war could drag on for weeks, with Iranian officials saying there are no prospects for negotiations.

A senior spokesperson for Iranian armed forces claimed in a statement carried by state media on Saturday that the USS Abraham Lincoln supercarrier has been “taken out of commission and taken away from the region after sustaining serious damage”.

“If regional countries do not trust in the fake power of the US, American forces will be forced to leave the region because they can’t even defend their own forces and bases,” said Abolfazl Shekarchi.