A reboot of Xena: Warrior Princess, the '90s fantasy action series, is in the works at NBC, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Citing unnamed sources, The Hollywood Reporter describes the show as being "in the extremely early development stages" at NBC and NBCUniversal International. The new TV series would be a "modern reboot," and Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi, the original show's executive producers, are involved in the project, according to the sources.
Xena: Warrior Princess, which began as a spinoff of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, premiered in September 1995 and aired in syndication for six seasons until its finale in June 2001. Lucy Lawless starred in the title role; it's unclear if she would return, especially since — spoiler alert — Xena died in the series finale of Xena: Warrior Princess, but she has been campaigning for the series to be revived in some form.
"I am pitching my ass off to make it happen, whether it's with me or not," Lawless told HitFix during San Diego Comic-Con earlier this month.
"I don't know what the hold-up is; it's about who's got the rights," Lawless continued. "But that's a piss-poor excuse anymore. I think they just — find who's 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."
"They're fools not to bring it back," Lawless concluded.
Update: Lucy Lawless threw a wet blanket on The Hollywood Reporter's story in a tweet yesterday, characterizing the report of a reboot as "just a rumor."
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.
— Lucy Lawless (@RealLucyLawless) July 20, 2015