Welcome back to the Hellmouth. Audible has announced Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, a new audio project uniting a pretty impressive lineup of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast — only this time, the story centers on Spike (James Marsters).
There’s a lot going on in this new Buffy story, so bear with us: Set 10 years after the on-screen finale of the series, Slayers follows an undercover Spike — everyone’s favorite vampire with a soul (sorry, Angel) — in Los Angeles, where he’s convinced the forces of darkness that he’s back to committing acts of evil. When his cover is blown by 16-year-old slayer Indira Nunnally (Laya DeLeon Hayes), however, he searches for a watcher for the teenager — and enters a parallel universe in which Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) is the one-and-only Slayer. What’s more, Cordy enlists Spike to help her fight another familiar face: Drusilla (Juliet Landau).
In addition to those aforementioned returning cast members, Slayers welcomes Anthony Head (Giles), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Amber Benson (Tara), James Charles Leary (the benevolent demon Clem), and Danny Strong (the innocent-turned-criminal loser Jonathan) back to the Buffyverse. What’s more, Benson herself, alongside author Christopher Golden, wrote the series, and she, Golden, and Kc Wayland shared direction duties.
“I’m ecstatic to be back with my dear friends for this next chapter in the Buffyverse, as we take listeners on a familiar but unexpected journey chock full of horror, passion and mischief,” Marsters said in a statement. “I’m excited for old and new fans to experience this beloved world of vampire slaying like never before, brought to life through immersive audio storytelling.”
Noticeably missing from the Slayers cast are David Boreanaz, who played Angel, Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister, Dawn, and the original Scoobies: Nicholas Brendon (Xander), Alyson Hannigan (Willow), and, of course, Sarah Michelle Gellar, who portrayed Buffy Summers for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003. Brendon has faced a series of legal troubles since Buffy went off the air, while Gellar has long declined to reprise her role as the Slayer, explaining that she wouldn’t want to taint the legacy of a show that, in her opinion, wrapped up quite nicely on its own. Showrunner Joss Whedon’s history of creating a toxic work environment probably has something to do with her interest in distancing herself from the series as well.
20 years since Buffy went off the air, here’s hoping Slayers can do the beloved series justice. The audio project premieres on Audible October 12th.
