Despite Lucy Lawless’ denial of the Xena: Warrior Princess reboot rumors, it seems NBC is still pushing ahead with their revival.
Last month, we reported the confusing news that a Xena reboot was happening… except it wasn’t?
Several major news sites had received inside information that NBC was working to bring the groundbreaking ’90s fantasy show Xena: Warrior Princess back to the small screen, yet almost immediately, star Lucy Lawless (who is married to Rob Tapert, one of the producers allegedly involved with the reboot) shot the rumors down.
“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,” she told fans on Twitter, although only weeks before, she’d expressed interest in reprising her iconic role.
But at the Television Critics Association press tour, NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt set the record straight: a reboot is happening, but it’s still in the early stages.
“Yes, we’re in the early stages of developing a new take on Xena, and we’re looking for a writer,” Greenblatt tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We want to do it.”
The words new take here are very important, because although Greenblatt calls the new series a “revival,” fans should note that NBC will likely try to reboot, rather than continue, the story of Xena.
“I don’t think it’s just a continuation, but we haven’t gotten that far,” Greenblatt says.
While they network would “love” to have Lawless involved, perhaps behind the scenes, it would only be, “if we felt that her presence didn’t overshadow the direction we take with [the new series].”
“I’m not sure how she could be part of it if she wasn’t playing Xena, and I don’t know if that’s a direction we’ll ever go,” says Greenblatt.
Related: Fandom Flashback: Xena: Warrior Princess
The new Xena, the initial report read, will, “have the charisma and charm of Lawless and the smarts of The Hunger Games‘ Katniss.” She’s described as a sophisticated, smart superhero for a new generation.
As Hypable argued in our initial write-up, we hope NBC chooses to stay true to the original values of Xena: Warrior Princess, which was refreshingly unapologetic about its gender politics at a time where female-led series were still on the rise.
Xena paved the way for Buffy, Alias and Charmed, and seeing as how there’s a notable lack of strong lead action heroines on TV today, the return of Xena could — if done right — herald in a new era of female-led series, that don’t feel the need to justify their characters’ gender to the audience or define their worth in relation to the male characters around them.
There is also the all-important relationship between Xena and her companion Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor), which was generally considered one of the genre’s first same-sex relationships (despite never officially being romantic in nature). A Xena reboot which didn’t include — and canonize — this relationship would certainly cause a major upset both in and outside of fandom.
Despite concerns, however, we are super excited about NBC’s plans to revive Xena: Warrior Princess. The world needs a show like this (again), and if it’s done right, it could be a brilliant way to introduce this iconic character to a new generation.
The Xena reboot is being overseen by original executive producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi.