BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER’s Amber Benson Talks Cordelia as Slayer in SLAYERS: A BUFFYVERSE STORY

Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans seem to be pretty excited about the upcoming Audible Original series, Slayers: A History of the Buffyverse, which brings back many of the stars of the original show. Former cast member Amber Benson he co-wrote the nine-episode series with Christopher Gold. Benson played Tara in the original series and she reprises her role Hunters. As for Golden, he has written several Buffy novels.

THE Hunters The story is set 20 years after the events of the original series and “begins when Spike has gone undercover in Los Angeles, convincing the forces of darkness that he has returned to his evil ways. But when his cover is compromised by 16-year-old Indira Nunnally (Hayes), Spike finds himself babysitting again. As he tries to track down a Watcher for his eager new protégé, their paths collide with the veteran Slayer of a parallel reality where Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) never existed, and Cordelia Chase (Carpenter Charisma) is the one and only Slayer. And Cordelia needs Spike’s help with a classic big bad terrorizing her world… her old flame, Drusilla (Landau).”

This is an interesting direction they’re taking the story with Cordelia as the Huntress, and in a recent interview with CB, Benson and Golden talked about why they took the story in that direction. Benson explained:

“For me, the main reason for doing Slayers with Chris was to see Cordelia the Vampire Slayer come to life. I worked with Charisma on a film a few years ago and we had this scene. She and I had never worked together before, but we were in this scene to play this very emotional moment, and it was transcendent, and I was like, “Oh my God, she’s so good. I really want to see her be a vampire slayer.” .” I think the seeds of that were planted during that scene. Being able to work with Chris and Audible on that and bring it to life was really important to me.”

Golden shared his perspective, saying:

“As soon as this topic came up and we started talking about it, a list of things that I had wanted, that I wanted to see happen, populated my head, but then also this explosion of ‘what ifs’ and every conversation we had brought up so much more, so much more and more and the best thing was being able to make it a real ensemble story so we could give all these amazing cast members meat to chew on, something to really chew on them and focus them on and give them emotional beats and arcs that they’ve never had before. It’s been a real pleasure, and of course, any opportunity to work with Amber is always a real pleasure. We have so much fun together.

Speaking about working with Charisma again and what she was trying to bring to the character, Benson said:

“Charisma and I were talking, and she was saying that it was very difficult for her to put it all together in her mind. In fact, she came up to me and Chris while we were recording. She’s like, ‘Okay, I’m doing good because here’s this world-weary slayer, and then there’s the sarcasm, and how do I balance…’ And Chris was like, ‘Oh no, you nailed it. You do not have to worry. You have this. Get out of your head. You’re already doing it.”

Golden went on to explain that this version of Cordelia is “definitely more like Charisma than the original version of Cordelia. There’s more of her in it, I think. Benson added that while people see Charisma as funny and tongue-in-cheek, there’s also “a real depth and thoughtfulness to her.” Golden then went on to talk about how the characters have changed in the last 20 years and how they are no longer the same as they once were:

“Yes, it’s crazy. What’s interesting, I would say, is that even the characters that exist in the Buffyverse that we know are different because 10-12 years have passed and they’ve changed since the end of the show. The Giles you meet is the familiar Giles, but he has changed over time. The Spike you encounter is the Spike you knew, but he has been significantly changed over time. Going to the other world is the same thought process. You look at these characters, you look at Tara and you say: what was her life like in this new version? What didn’t you experience that you experienced that we knew? And what did she experience? And you start to piece together who that character is and who she’s going to be. I think one of the best helps in achieving that goal was having Indira as a new character, and Laya DeLeon Hayes is phenomenal in that role.”

The cast for Hunters also includes James Marsters (Harpoon), Carpenter Charisma (Cordella), Anthony Stewart Testa (Giles), Amber Benson (Tare), Juliet Landau (Drusilla), ed Emma Caulfield Ford (Anya). Danny Forteas well as a newcomer Laya DeLeon Hayes I’m also in the series.

Marsters previously said in a statement: “I’m thrilled to be back with my dear friends for this next chapter of the Buffyverse, as we take listeners on a familiar yet unexpected journey, chock-full of horror, passion and mischief. I’m excited for fans new and old to experience this beloved world of vampire slaying like never before, brought to life through immersive audio storytelling.”

Slayers: A History of the Buffyverse debuts October 12, 2023.