‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ Is Getting a Reboot, and May Debut as Early as 2016

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Surely, sometime soon, we’ll all wake up from the collective déjà-vu nightmare (albeit, an often-pleasing, nostalgia-stoking one) of the contemporary TV/film climate. But until we do, Xena: Warrior Princess is getting a reboot, from original executive producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi, through NBC and NBC Universal. Because this is so nascent, it is yet unknown what — if any — role former Xena star Lucy Lawless will play, and whether it’d be onscreen or off — but The Hollywood Reporter hints that insiders would like it to be both.

It’s so early in the project’s development, in fact, that the “modern reboot” is still searching for a writer. Thus, all info about the series — which was originally created by Tapert and John Schulian — is written in totally vague terms, as in the aforementioned THR news piece: the fact that “producers are said to be looking for a sophisticated and smart superhero for a new generation” doesn’t give provide much in the way of concrete details, given that no one’s expecting them to be looking for a dumb superhero for a bygone generation.

If it’s further indication of Lawless’ potential involvement, a Xena reboot was something that Lawless had been championing for a while, very recently telling HitFix at San Diego Comic-Con:

I’ve been pitching that show … because … there’s a swell of interest still. I’m always being peppered with questions [about] when the Xena movie is coming. Guys, I’m pitching my ass off to make it happen, whether it’s with me or not…I don’t know what the hold-up is; it’s about who has got the rights. But that’s a piss-poor excuse anymore. Find who has got the rights, freakin’ pay it. It’s better to have 80 percent of something than 100 percent of nothing. Don’t waste this opportunity; reinvigorate that franchise!…It’s an insane international character. They’re fools not to bring it back. It’s funny, it’s sexy, it’s action.

Alas, all the purported humor, sexiness and action may be with you as early as 2016.