‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ In The Works At NBC

A Xena: Warrior Princess reboot will soon be coming to NBC, according to the network.

Xena: Warrior Princess Reboot

NBC is moving forward with plans for a new Xena: Warrior Princess series. The network has announced that Javier Grill-Marxuach (Helix, Medium and Lost) is onboard to write and produce for the series.

“I watched the original Xena as well as Hercules during their initial run,” Grillo-Marxuach told CNET’s Crave blog. “Remember that was kind of a golden age for first-run syndication sci-fi at a time when the networks had precious little to offer us true believers. All of which is a long way of saying that I am very excited, both to be working with the producers of the original, as well as to be working on material that spoke to me from a time in television history that I remember very fondly.”

READ: Lucy Lawless On ‘Spartacus,’ Wearing A Merkin!

Grill-Marxuach plans to honor the original series, while steering away from more depressing themes, and bringing the fun adventure to the forefront. He’s also intent on making sure that the relationship between Xena and her sidekick Gabrielle feels authentic.

“These two characters were super-heroic women who appealed to me as a fan of sci-fi, fantasy and horror, as a fan of the sword-and-sandal genre, and as a fan of characters whose lives and struggles I found inspiring,” Grillo-Marxuach said. “There were a lot of action-adventure shows in first-run syndication in the mid-’90s, but the ones that endure are the ones whose characters truly spoke to the audience.”

He added, “If we don’t get that central relationship right, and evolve it to where it can go in our modern televisual landscape, then we are sunk. And I don’t want to be sunk.”

Contrary to the rumors that started over the summer about a new Xena series, Lucy Lawless and Renée O’Connor will not be reprising their parts in the central roles. Back in July, Lawless had expressed enthusiasm at returning to the series, even if it had to be in the form of a two-hour TV movie. As for the catch that Xena died in the original series’ final episode, Lawless didn’t think that would pose much of a problem.

“So what? Technicality! No one really dies!” Lawless said. “Screw her head back on, it’s a bit wonky, and she’s got a really bad attitude since she’s been in a box for 20 years, so they’ve got to get Xena’s mojo back, and go and save the world somehow.”

Xena – sans Lawless – is slated to premiere on NBC sometime in 2016.