NBC is Rebooting XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS
Because apparently nothing from the 1990s can stay in the 1990s, THR reports that NBC is developing a reboot of Xena: Warrior Princess.
Original executive producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi are involved with this new iteration of the show, which is referred to as a "modern reboot." THR's sources also indicate that insiders want star Lucy Lawless to have a role both in front of and behind the camera. That's a nice gesture, but it remains to be seen what kind of real impact she'll have on the production, should she even choose to become involved with it at all. This is all very early, and the network is searching for a writer to bring the heroine to life with "the charisma and charm of Lawless and the smarts of The Hunger Games' Katniss as producers are said to be looking for a sophisticated and smart superhero for a new generation."
The original show was a spin-off of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and from 1995 until 2001, it followed the battle-hardened Xena (Lawless) and her sidekick Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) as they travelled across the land in an attempt to fight for those who were unable to fight for themselves.
But doesn't this strike you as one of those things that peaked in the 90s and should probably stay there? Even with the involvement of the original creators and star, it seems unlikely that they'll be able to recreate what made the show special for a lot of people, something that appears evident by the mention of Katniss Everdeen in this release; that just seems like a "what's popular right now? Let's emulate that" kind of thing, which should never be the template for storytelling.
Lawless has been extremely vocal about bringing the character back, so I guess this is her chance to make it happen and potentially have a lot of say in the direction of the series, so I'm happy for her. She loves this character enough that hopefully fans can sleep soundly knowing that a Xena reboot is in capable hands, but the fact that this is going to be on the notoriously crappy NBC sounds like trouble.
What do you all think?