After the cancellation of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel, Sarah Michelle Gellar signs on to play the Grim Reaper opposite Rudy Pankow's Devil in the upcoming film Thud, a supernatural romance directed by Mali Elfman and written by Black List screenwriter Noga Pnueli.
After the ill‑fated cancellation of the planned Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, Sarah Michelle Gellar is once again stepping back into the world of the supernatural.
The actress who became synonymous with the teenage slayer in the 1997‑2003 television series had been slated to reprise her iconic role in a Hulu sequel series announced in February 2025. That project was abruptly shelved by March 2026, leaving fans without a continuation of the beloved saga. Now the star has signed on to lead a very different kind of otherworldly story.
According to a recent report from Deadline, Gellar will headline Thud, a new supernatural romance written by Noga Pnueli and directed by Mali Elfman, the filmmaker behind the genre‑blending Next Exit. In Thud Gellar will portray the Grim Reaper, while her opposite number, the Devil, will be played by Rudy Pankow, best known for his turn as James in the Netflix hit Outer Banks.
The premise centres on a three‑day destination wedding that becomes the unlikely meeting place for death and the prince of darkness. Their scheduled mission is to sow chaos throughout the event, but the script takes a playful turn when the two entities experience a meet‑cute that blossoms into a romantic rivalry. Production is set to begin in Los Angeles under the California tax credit program, with Derek Bishé and David Grove Churchill Viste serving as producers.
Executive producers listed include Lindsay Helms and Joel Nevells of Helmstreet Productions, Greg Gilreath and Adam Hendricks of Divide/Conquer, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli‑Olpin of Radio Silence, as well as Dan Lawler and Noga Pnueli herself. Gellar reunites with the Radio Silence duo after starring in their horror‑comedy sequel Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, which they directed and released earlier in 2026.
Recent entries on her résumé also feature the streaming thriller Dexter: Original Sin, a cameo in the 2025 reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer, and an upcoming voice role in the animated series Breaking Bear for Tubi. Rudy Pankow, meanwhile, expands his portfolio beyond the sun‑soaked drama of Outer Banks. He recently appeared in the Colleen Hoover adaptation Reminders of Him and has just wrapped a modern western titled Cowboy.
His next project is the Hulu comedy Never Change!. Director Mali Elfman made her feature debut with the off‑beat sci‑fi romance Next Exit and most recently wrote and directed the animated horror short The Scariest Skeleton for the Dark Corners anthology, collaborating with Stephen King. Screenwriter Noga Pnueli has earned repeat recognition on The Black List for her scripts Meet Cute and High Society, the latter of which was sold to Peacock for distribution.
With Thud moving forward, Gellar's supernatural chapter appears far from finished, trading the slayer's stake for a more devilish romance that promises both laughs and eerie intrigue. The film's blend of horror, comedy and romance marks a bold new direction for the actress who has spent much of her career navigating the grey areas between life and death, and it signals a renewed commitment to exploring the genre that first made her a cultural icon
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