Xena reboot not proceeding
NBC doesn't see eye to eye with the vision writer had to reboot the Warrior Princess.
- Published by David Knox
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With a string of reboots emanating from Hollywood, there is now one less with a planned Xena: The Warrior Princess not continuing.
Co-creator Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi were on board to oversee the production but NBC parted ways with writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost) in April after creative differences.
NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke has said, “Nothing is happening on that right now. We looked at some material; we decided at that point that it didn’t warrant the reboot.
“I’d never say never on that one because it’s such a beloved title, but the current incarnation of it is dead.”
Grillo-Marxuach’s plan was to explore the romantic relationship that existed between Xena (originally Lucy Lawless) and her sidekick, Gabrielle (originally Renee O’Connor).
Last year Grillo-Marxuach told TV Tonight, “As with any legacy property, Xena brings with it a huge responsibility. Xena means a lot to a lot of people, and obviously the events of the last few weeks have only brought that home further for me. But I always approach Xena knowing there are reasons why Xena is so important, and I want to respect those reasons.”
Salke has confirmed that NBC remains open to doing a Xena revival at some point down the line. “I need someone to come in with a point of view about what they want to do.”
Or another one, anyway….
Source: Hollywood Reporter
- Tagged with Lost, Xena The Warrior Princess
3 Responses
Sounds like another job for HBO or Netflix if the rights are available, I’m sure production in NZ would not take long to organise.
Months ago, when a pilot failed to appear in this season’s batch, Grillo-Marxuach was asked and said he had parted ways with NBC some time previous over creative differences. Making their relationship explicit (which it pretty much was by the last couple of seasons anyway) was only one of his changes. He wanted to make a serious, complex adult serial drama, rather than the episodic light hearted comic book style of the original. NBC wanted a remake, not a reboot, they saw yet another 10pm drama that would be dead in the water after nobody watched the first episode.
Thank god they didn’t go through with it. I love Xena and it won’t be the same without Lucy Lawless or its campiness. This won’t be working in the current TV landscape.