In every generation, there is a chosen one…and in this generation, that chosen one is Ryan Kiera Armstrong. The Star Wars: Skeleton Crew star will lead the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. Variety reports that the actor will star alongside original slayer Sarah Michelle Gellar in the upcoming horror series.

Says Gellar, who will executive produce the series and recur as Buffy Summers, “From the moment I saw Ryan’s audition, I knew there was only one girl that I wanted by my side. 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.” The series, which was announced earlier this year, will feature Buffy as a mentor to Armstrong‘s new slayer; any other plot details, or returning characters from the original series, are being kept under wraps. The series will be showrun by Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Poker Face), and Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals) is attached to direct.

Who Is Ryan Kiera Armstrong?

Armstrong was born in New York City to Canadian parents; her father, Dean Armstrong, is also an actor. She made her screen debut as Minnie May Barry on the Anne of Green Gables adaptation Anne With an E. At age eight, she made her movie debut in the Kevin Costner movie The Art of Racing in the Rain. She subsequently filled Drew Barrymore‘s shoes in the 2022 Stephen King adaptation Firestarter as a pyrokinetic youngster, and starred as the young incarnation of the woman who would become the Taskmaster in the MCU film Black Widow. In 2024, she had her most prominent role to date, in the Star Wars series Skeleton Crew: she played Fern, one of a quartet of youngsters who inadvertently get sucked into a star-spanning adventure with pirates. She is next set to appear in the Owen Wilson Apple TV+ gold comedy series Stick, and with Ethan Hawke in the FX series The Lowdown.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer began as a teen horror comedy film written by Joss Whedon and starring Kristy Swanson in the title role. It was later adapted into a TV series starring Gellar that ran for seven seasons on The WB and later UPN.

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel series, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Kiera Armstrong, is in development; no release date has yet been announced.

via Collider