Is 'Xena: Warrior Princess' returning to TV?
Original series star Lucy Lawless recently said, 'Reinvigorate that franchise鈥� They're fools not to bring [Xena] back.'
'Xena: Warrior Princess,' starring Lucy Lawless, aired from 1995 to 2001.
G. Short/MCA TV/AP
Is a new version of the "Xena: Warrior Princess" TV series coming soon?聽
聽that NBC is working on a reboot of "Xena," the historical fantasy series that aired during the 1990s and early 2000s. The show starred Lucy Lawless and Renee O鈥機onnor and was a spin-off of the program "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys." Xena was a fighter who worked to aid the helpless, accompanied by bard Gabrielle.聽
Despite the rumors, fans shouldn't get too excited yet 鈥� Lawless herself, who is married to "Xena" co-creator Robert Tapert, tweeted that nothing is happening right now.
But the timing could be right for NBC or another network to move forward with a new version of the show
The original "Xena"聽series ended in 2001, the same year that "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," the first installment in the Oscar-winning movie series based on J.R.R. Tolkien鈥檚 books, hit theaters, and fantasy and science fiction films are still being influenced by the "Rings" films today.
Those who doubted that there was an appetite for fantasy films, let alone medieval fantasy, were quickly proven wrong by the success of 鈥淩ings鈥� 鈥� the first film was the second-highest-grossing movie of the year, behind only 鈥淗arry Potter and the Sorcerer鈥檚 Stone,鈥� another fantasy film, though the 鈥淧otter鈥� series is set closer to our own time period. The second 鈥淩ings鈥� film, 鈥淭he Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,鈥� was also the second-grossing film of the year in which it was released and the third, 鈥淭he Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,鈥� was the highest-grossing film of 2003.聽
Meanwhile, the TV series 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� has become the most-watched HBO show of all time, ahead of such culture-dominating shows as 鈥淭he Sopranos鈥� and 鈥淪ex and the City.鈥�
While Ms. Lawless debunked the current rumors, she has said in the past that she wouldn鈥檛 say no to being involved in a new version 鈥� far from it.
Lawless discussed reviving the show earlier this month, , 鈥淚 don't know what the holdup is. It's about who's got the rights [to the series]鈥� find who's got the rights鈥� pay it. It's better to have 80 percent of something than 100 percent of nothing. Don't waste this opportunity. Reinvigorate that franchise鈥� They're fools not to bring it back.鈥澛�