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Is 'Xena: Warrior Princess' returning to TV?

Original series star Lucy Lawless recently said, 'Reinvigorate that franchise… They're fools not to bring [Xena] back.'

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G. Short/MCA TV/AP
'Xena: Warrior Princess,' starring Lucy Lawless, aired from 1995 to 2001.

Is a new version of the "Xena: Warrior Princess" TV series coming soon? 

Hollywood Reporter claims 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’Connor 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. 

Despite the rumors, fans shouldn't get too excited yet – 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" 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’s 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 “Rings” – the first film was the second-highest-grossing movie of the year, behind only “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” another fantasy film, though the “Potter” series is set closer to our own time period. The second “Rings” film, “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” was also the second-grossing film of the year in which it was released and the third, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” was the highest-grossing film of 2003. 

Meanwhile, the TV series “Game of Thrones” has become the most-watched HBO show of all time, ahead of such culture-dominating shows as “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City.”

While Ms. Lawless debunked the current rumors, she has said in the past that she wouldn’t say no to being involved in a new version – far from it.

Lawless discussed reviving the show earlier this month, saying, “I don't know what the holdup is. It's about who's got the rights [to the series]… find who's got the rights… 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.” 

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