Lucy Lawless recently reunited with Xena: Warrior Princess producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert—Lawless’ husband—for their upcoming project Ash Vs. Evil Dead. The Evil Dead TV series also stars Xena alum Bruce Campbell, who played master thief Autolycus in the fantasy series. Now, Lawless wants to take that reunion one step further with a Xena: Warrior Princess revival.
In an interview with Den Of Geek, Lawless replied very positively when asked if she would consider reprising her role as the warrior princess. In fact, she actively wants it to happen. “I’ve been pitching that, actually,” Lawless said. “The fans really do want that, and I’ve met some people who’ve crowdfunded some things, and I’m just like, ‘Why don’t we just do that?’”
With the X-Files continuation series and Twin Peaks sequel causing as much of a stir as they are, now seems like the right time for genre television revivals. If the Raimi/Tapert-produced Spartacus series can have a prequel, a prequel-sequel, and a sequel, why can’t Xena? Well, as with most reboot and revival projects, there are some legal issues. “It’s still about who owns the rights to Xena,” Lawless said. “But it would still be cool to do it again with Renée [O’Connor], me, Ted [Raimi], and Bruce. It’d be a fun little gig, but what that is I don’t really know.” So not only does Lawless want to see the return of Xena, but also the return of Gabrielle (O’Connor) and, hopefully, the return of Xena/Gabrielle. Maybe a contemporary Xena update could lead to more straightforward recognition of Gabrielle and Xena’s romance, instead of just a ton of subtext. At the very least, it would have better special effects.
In addition to the legal concerns, there is the little obstacle of how Xena: Warrior Princess ended: with Xena’s death. But that’s not a concern for Lawless, who has played enough characters in sci-fi and fantasy series to know that death doesn’t always mean the end. “So what? Technicality!” Lawless told Den Of Geek when the character’s demise was brought up. “No one really dies! 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.” It wouldn’t be the first time a Lawless character miraculously came back to life. As Cylon Number Three on Battlestar Galactica, she died and resurrected multiple times. No big deal!
Lawless continues to be a powerhouse in genre television: She recently entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Isabelle Hartley on Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and showed up as a witch on Salem. So a Xena continuation would have to fit into Lawless’ consistently packed schedule, but that shouldn’t be a problem as she‘s made her priorities perfectly clear.