Lucy Lawless Wants To Return In Xena Reboot To Pass On Mantle & Retire
Lucy Lawless recently spoke about her desire to return for a Xena: Warrior Princess reboot only to pass on the mantle and retire. Lawless starred as the titular character in the series that was conceived as a spinoff of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. The fantasy TV show ran from 1995 to 2001, and has since developed a cult following. During its original run, fans and critics praised Lawless' performance as the strong female protagonist. The series has also influenced a number of other TV shows since.
Xena was almost an immediate success, airing in more than 108 countries by 1998. TV Guide would go on to rank the series in 2004 and 2007 as the ninth and tenth "Top Cult Shows Ever." Lawless' character would also rank as number 100 on Bravo's "100 Greatest TV Characters." Xena's success led to hundreds of tie-in appearances, including video games, books, and comics. The series even spawned conventions held annually in Pasadena, California and in London since 1998. For all six years of Xena's run, the show remained in the top five-rated slot for syndicated drama series on American TV. Although the show has been off the air for over 20 years, it has led to many fans hoping for a reboot.
Sitting down with Screen Rant for the release of her animated movie, The Spine of Night, Lawless divulged her thoughts on returning for a Xena: Warrior Princess reboot. When asked about how she'd feel towards a reboot, Lawless replied saying she'd like to be included somehow. However, she'd like to find a new Xena, to which she'd "hand the breastplate over," and says she and co-star Renee O'Connor could go "settle down on Lesbos and run a B&B." View Lawless' full quote about returning for a Xena reboot below:
"Well, I would like to be in some way included in finding the next one. Renee [O’Connor] and I come back as our roles, but find there is the new Xena to hand the breastplate over to or something. And then, she and I can go settle down on Lesbos and run a B&B or something."
Lawless also express her view towards a Xena reboot, saying, "they have tried" to make one, but they "can't find a way to write it better." Lawless is referring to a reboot planned in 2015 by NBC that pegged Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert (the show's original creators) to return as executive producers. However, that Xena reboot was ultimately scrapped by NBC, who announced they cancelled the project for the "foreseeable future." Additionally, a feature-length film was planned as far back as 2003 until it was stalled and shelved.
One of the best aspects of the original show was Lawless' performance as the fierce warrior. If a reboot of Xena: Warrior Princess is ever actually made, getting someone to replace Lawless would definitely be a challenge. However, given Lawless' willingness to return to pass off the mantle, that could end up helping to ease fans into the new show. Nonetheless, fans of Lawless can look forward to hearing her voice acting in The Spine of Night, which is releasing to theaters, on-demand, and digital on October 29.