NBC is rebooting Xena: The Warrior Princess for a new generation, and they just recruited one of our favorite TV writers. No big deal.

The fact that a Xena reboot is happening at all is obviously a frightening prospect for fans of the original — but it’s also, potentially, very good news.

Related: NBC confirms plans for a Xena reboot, but it probably won’t star Lucy Lawless

Once upon a time, physically and emotionally strong female characters ruled the small screen, and the TV landscape hasn’t been the same since Buffy, Xena, the Charmed Ones and Sydney Bristow retired.

Therefore, it’ll be great to see a new, reimagined version of Xena, which NBC is branding as, “a sophisticated and smart superhero for a new generation.”

Unfortunately, original star Lucy Lawless isn’t reprising her career-defining role. Instead, NBC is looking for an actress with “the charisma and charm” of Lawless, mixed with “the smarts of The Hunger Games’ Katniss.”

However you feel about that description, one thing that should certainly reassure worried Xena fans is the news from The Hollywood Reporter that Javier Grillo-Marxuach has been hired to write the pilot script.

Grillo-Marxuach’s prolific writing career includes Charmed, The Chronicle, The Middleman, Helium, and most famously Lost (protip: if you’re ever curious about how writing works, check out his lengthy essay reflecting back on his time on that show).

His most recent project was The 100 season 3, which premieres in January. The first trailer, which was released yesterday, suggests that this will be the series’ most epic year yet.

Certainly, the projects Grillo-Marxuach is attracted to makes him one of the best writers NBC could have possibly chosen for this project.

THR writes that Grillo-Marxuach will also serve as executive producer with original co-creators Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi.

The Xena reboot is expected in 2016.