Update: Xena herself is calling shenanigans on this beautiful little rumor. Hopefully all this excitement spurs the project forward, at least!
Sorry, friends! news of a #Xena reboot is just a rumor. I'd love it to happen one day but it's still in the wishful thinking stage.
— Lucy Lawless (@RealLucyLawless) July 20, 2015
Before Agent Carter, Alias or even Buffy the Vampire Slayer graced our television screens, there was Xena: Warrior Princess. Debuting in 1995 as a spin-off of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena, starring Lucy Lawless as an amazon warrior on a journey of redemption, far outstripped its male counterpart Hercules in popularity, running six seasons in syndication and developing a loyal cult following that persists to this day. Xena brought back the kickass female action hero for the nineties generation, a generation raised on reruns of Wonder Woman, Charlie’s Angels, and The Bionic Woman, who bought albums from the likes of Hole and L7, and were waiting patiently for a new, heroic female figure to emerge on TV again.
Now NBC is bringing Xena back, although in what form remains up in the air. The Hollywood Reporter states that the new version of the show is in the extremely early development stages. According to the report, a search for a writer is currently underway, with a target launch of sometime in 2016. Will this be a limited run, or something more long term? Unknown as of right now, but longtime fans will be comforted to know that original executive producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi are also involved, so that’s good news. This is being called a “modern reboot” but who knows what that means. Do they want a new younger actress in the role?
Sources say that Lucy Lawless is going to be involved in some form (her husband is producer Rob Tapert). Our own Dan Casey spoke with Lawless at Comic-Con, where she admitted, “I’ve been pitching [Xena] so hard this weekend! I’m like, come on, for god’s sake… there’s enough of a ground swell about it, it’s not abating, it’s only gonna get bigger — let’s do it, tear one off!”
Considering that X-Files, Twin Peaks and more are coming back to TV with their original casts intact, there is no reason that Xena couldn’t do that same. Lucy Lawless is still a total badass and can totally pull it off. Maybe get her a new, younger sidekick, but as long as Lucy Lawless is willing to do it, only she should be Xena. If Sigourney Weaver can come back as Ripley for a new Aliens movie, Lawless can return as Xena.
What do you think of this new Xena reboot? Should we get Lawless back, or do you want a younger unknown actress in the part? Let us know in the comments below!
