Fangs out, stakes up! Hulu’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot is taking shape. Now it’s found it’s new vampire hunter, so here’s what you need to know about new lead Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
For better or worse, we’re living in the reboot era. With streaming services completely rebuilding the TV landscape (and nostalgia keeping the lights on), established IP is hot property right now, whether it’s the Harry Potter TV show or The Last of Us adaptation.
It was only a matter of time before someone cracked open the Hellmouth again. That time has come, with a pilot order from Hulu set to revive the supernatural horror series, which finished its seven-season run in 2003.
Sarah Michelle Gellar will be reprising her role as Buffy Summers, while also executive producing. But she will no longer be the main Chosen One. Instead, Sunnydale has a new heroine in town.
Who is Ryan Kiera Armstrong?
Although she’s only 15 years old, Armstrong has many acting credits to her name, including the recent Star Wars series Skeleton Crew, in which she played Fern. Her first big role was as Minnie May Barry in the 2017 drama series Anne with an E.
She made her big screen debut at age eight, starring in the 2019 comedy drama The Art of Racing in the Rain, alongside Kevin Costner, Milo Ventimiglia, Amanda Seyfried, and Gary Cole.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn’t Armstrong’s first horror rodeo. At 11, she became the youngest actor to be in the main cast of American Horror Story, having played the child prodigy Alma Gardner in Double Feature.
While Armstrong was born in New York, her parents are Canadian. Her father is actor-producer Dean Armstrong, best known for playing Blake Wyzecki in Queer as Folk and appearing in shows like Sullivan’s Crossing and Supernatural.
With a background in both acting and producing, Dean’s resume spans TV, film, and stage, so it’s no surprise Ryan caught the performance bug early.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer explained
While the big details of the Buffyverse show are being kept under wraps, Deadline revealed that she will be playing the main slayer and that her character is described as an “introverted high-school student.”
The outlet also stated that Sarah Michelle Gellar is reprising her role as Buffy Summers, while also serving as executive producer. She celebrated Armstrong’s arrival by sharing a clip on Instagram in which she breaks the good news.
“How do you feel about helping me save the world?… You wanna be my Chosen One?” she says, to which Armstrong excitedly replies, “Yes.”
Speaking about her new co-star, Gellar said, “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.”
Writers Lilla and Nora Zuckerman also said in a shared statement, “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.”
Nomadland and Eternals filmmaker Chloé Zhao is directing the pilot, which does not yet have a release date.
Until then, check out the new shows hitting Hulu this month, TV shows coming to streaming, and the full 2025 TV show release calendar.
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