By Hoai-Tran Bui/March 13, 2018 11:30 am EST

Fox TV group chair Gary Newman says that the group has been eyeing Buffy the Vampire Slayer as its next potential reboot, according to Variety. “I think if you look in our library, Buffy is probably the most ripe show we have for bringing back,” Newman said at the at the INTV Conference in Jerusalem.

But almost immediately, Newman acknowledged that he “wouldn’t get out of the building alive” if he announced a Buffy revival:

Hear that Joss? If the apocalypse comes and you want to return to Buffy, beep Fox.

“It’s something we talk about frequently, and Joss Whedon is really one of the greatest creators we ever worked with. When Joss decides it’s time, we’ll do it. And until Joss decides it’s time, it won’t happen.”

A revival of Whedon’s landmark ’90s supernatural series has been bandied about since the show went off the air in 2003. There was even talk of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie reboot eight years ago.

And Whedon’s reaction to a revival has swung from straight-up rejection (“I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death.  But, you know, AFTER,” Whedon told E! Online in 2010) to reluctant acceptance. When show celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, Whedon told EW:

If a revival does happen, it does call into question what happens to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, which continued the show’s story after the season 7 finale. Will they be erased from existence? Or will they influence the stories for the revival a la the Star Wars Expanded Universe? I hope the latter, because some of those stories are bonkers.

“Everything sort of finds its way back somewhere. I’ve been trying deliberately to move forward and do something a little bit different. But yeah, the great thing is everybody looks great, and the other great thing is the show is about growing up. If we did it with these guys, they’d be the age they basically are. They’d probably play a little younger because they can do that. But yeah, you’d see somebody going through their life at a different stage.

The Case Against a Revival

It was a groundbreaking series that earned a devoted following over its seven seasons — including myself. It’s still inspiring to rewatch Buffy today and see how far ahead of the curve it was for complex, strong female characters and emotionally-driven storytelling. You can see everything from Jessica Jones to Teen Wolf taking its cues from Buffy.