The Dream That Never Was
For years, fans of Xena: Warrior Princess imagined seeing their favourite Amazon-slaying, gods-defying hero on the big screen. The show had everything a fantasy film needed: epic battles, sharp humour, and a heroine who could stare down Ares without flinching. But somehow, the Xena movie that was whispered about throughout the 2000s and 2010s never made it past the rumour stage.
So, what actually happened?
From Cult TV to Hollywood Talk
When Xena: Warrior Princess ended in 2001, the show had built a global fanbase that rivalled Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Star Trek: Voyager. Lucy Lawless had become an icon, and fans wanted more. A movie seemed like the obvious next step.
Early talk suggested a possible continuation of the TV series, giving closure to the show’s famously divisive finale. Producer Rob Tapert and writer R.J. Stewart even discussed it in interviews, hinting that “something” could happen if the timing and budget lined up.
But Hollywood timing rarely works in favour of niche cult shows. Universal, which owned the rights, reportedly had no clear plan for a cinematic revival. Worse still, there were complicated ownership issues around the Xena intellectual property, making it difficult for anyone to move forward without multiple approvals.
Lucy Lawless Wanted It – But on Her Terms
Lucy Lawless was never against revisiting Xena, but she wasn’t about to do it halfway. She told Entertainment Weekly and other outlets that she’d love to return only if the script had real emotional and mythological depth. She didn’t want “just another sword-swinging fantasy reboot.”
Lawless also pointed out that Xena was ahead of its time in how it explored relationships, particularly between Xena and Gabrielle. A modern film, she argued, needed to treat that dynamic honestly rather than bury it under vague subtext like the 90s show sometimes did.
Fans loved that honesty. Studios, less so.
The 2015 Reboot That Vanished
In 2015, NBC announced it was developing a Xena reboot series, not a movie, but fans saw it as the next best thing. Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost, The Middleman) was hired to write a pilot that would reboot Xena for a modern audience.
Grillo-Marxuach promised something bold. He said the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle would be front and centre, and that the show would take on modern ideas about power, redemption, and identity.
Then, silence.
NBC cancelled the project before filming even began, citing “creative differences.” Grillo-Marxuach later admitted that his vision didn’t align with the network’s, which was apparently nervous about making the reboot too progressive or too self-aware.
And just like that, Xena was back in limbo.
Rights, Reboots, and the Streaming Problem
In the streaming age, a Xena movie could have made perfect sense. Think of how The Witcher and House of the Dragon pulled massive numbers with strong female leads and violent mythic storytelling. But Xena has a unique problem: her rights are split between different companies due to how the original show was produced and distributed.
Universal owns much of the franchise, but various production companies hold pieces of the pie. This makes a revival more complicated than simply greenlighting a script. Unless all those entities agree, the Warrior Princess remains on the sidelines.
What Could Have Been
Imagine a Xena film shot like Mad Max: Fury Road meets 300, with brutal mythological combat and Lucy Lawless returning as an older, scarred warrior who’s haunted by her past. Gabrielle could have become a peacemaker between gods and mortals, forcing Xena to fight one last time to stop a divine war.
That movie practically writes itself. The only thing missing was the studio courage to make it happen.
The Legacy That Refuses to Die
Even without a movie, Xena: Warrior Princess remains a cult phenomenon. Lawless continues to attend conventions, fans still cosplay as Xena and Gabrielle, and the show’s influence can be felt in everything from Game of Thrones to The Witcher and Wonder Woman.
Every few years, new rumours surface about a revival, a reboot, or even an animated continuation. None have panned out yet, but fans haven’t given up.
Maybe that’s fitting. Xena’s entire story was about redemption and persistence. If any hero could rise from development hell, it would be her.
