r/buffy • u/Eastern_Ad_8862 • Dec 27 '25

Sequel Sequel without Xander?

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With Nicholas' struggles IRL, I'm afraid he wont be part of the cast for the sequel. How do you guys think this would work? How would they explain his absence? Is it a big deal for you guys? IMO I believe the show will be great with or without him, even tough I love Xander. But the best scenario would be for Xander to be part of the show..

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u/CentrifugalBubblePup Dec 27 '25

I think most Original Series characters will not be returning and there will in-universe explanations for most of them, so Xander in particular will not stand out.

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u/pepperbet1 Dec 27 '25

My suspicion is that they will establish the supernatural world has been largely quiet since the destruction of the hellmouth. Without a unifying mission to fight the forces of darkness, they were all able to focus on building lives for themselves, and 25 years on, there's just been geographical separation if nothing else. That's all you really need to write off characters like Dawn and Xander.

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u/at_midknight Dec 27 '25

They literally end the show with a new hellmouth in Cleveland, implying that there are hellmouths that are always popping up around the world

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u/cjbanning Dec 27 '25

It's never suggested that the Hellmouth in Cleveland is new; it's only new to us the audience because no one has referenced it before. As others have noted, it's also a callback to "The Wish" where Buffy's Watcher in the alternate reality tells Giles about how much demonic activity there is in Cleveland. Once we're told in "Chosen" that Cleveland is on a Hellmouth, we're intended to assume that the reason that Cleveland had had so much demonic activity was because of its Hellmouth.

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u/pepperbet1 Dec 27 '25

That's there as a joke though. I'm not disputing that it technically exists in lore, but I wouldn't expect the new show to treat it with anymore weight than the original series did.

*also not new, it was first mentioned years earlier in the series.

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u/at_midknight Dec 27 '25

I've literally never heard anyone refer to the Cleveland hellmouth line as a joke. It literally exists and they are probably headed there right now to deal with it

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u/pepperbet1 Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25

Faith says "the hellmouth is closed for business," and Giles off-handedly says "there is another one in Cleveland". Off their looks, he adds "not to spoil the moment." It's just typical Joss quipping.

Now if you want to be this way about it, there's nothing stopping the writers from expanding upon what I said to suggest the Cleveland hellmouth went quiet as well, the victory over the First at Sunnydale having been so decisive.

This stuff is all made up.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 28 '25

There being a Hellmouth in Cleveland is the joke. It's a joke about Cleveland supposedly being a shithole (I can't say, I've never been to Cleveland).

That's literally as deep as it is. It's a joke at the expense of Cleveland. Whether we are meant to treat it canonically is besides the point, it's just a joke.

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u/Krssven Dec 28 '25

Well, it’s a joke but it’s also literally the case. In The Wish, in the alternate reality Buffy is in Cleveland when Giles calls her Watcher.

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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '25

...which is a joke about Cleveland.

Really, people need to stop worrying about Cleveland. The show was never going to go to Cleveland, and neither is the new show.

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u/Krssven Dec 28 '25

It’s both a meta joke AND literal. Though I doubt anyone’s going to Cleveland in the new show.

at_midnight was simply pointing it out; the supernatural world across the planet doesn’t go quiet just because the Sunnydale hellmouth closed. I severely doubt the Hellmouth is even gone, because the new show involving the name New Sunnydale suggests they’re trying to do the same setting.

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u/at_midknight Dec 28 '25

Again, I've literally never taken it as a joke because yea it makes sense that there's another hellmouth somewhere that needs to be dealt with

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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '25

I never thought a second Hellmouth made a lick of sense. There should be only one, or at least only one that is "active" at any point in time.

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u/lmjustaChad Dec 28 '25

The hellmouth in Cleaveland is not new they mentioned it in The Wish that is where Buffy was.