When Xena: Warrior Princess returns to television screens early next year with a new cast, Lucy Lawless says she hopes producers seize the opportunity to do something different: out Xena, and cast an African-American in that lead role.
Lawless told reporters at the Television Critics Association gathering last week, it’s time for Xena and her best friend Gabrielle to come out as lesbian.
“Now they need to make them an interracial couple,” she said. “Black Xena!”
As PinkNews reported, the original series, which ran from 1995 through 2001, hinted at a possible romance between Xena and Gabrielle but never let the characters get involved with each other romantically.
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Xena writer Liz Friedman told After Ellen that the network didn’t want to deal with that relationship.
“It came up all the time,” said Friedman. “The studio was very worried about it, and I was the one saying to them ‘Guys, no one’s ever gonna think they’re gay.’”
Executive Producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach reportedly has promised fans that because social views have changed, this reboot will feature a romantic relationship between Xena and Gabrielle.
But Lawless is the first to suggest the lead role should be reimagined as an African-American.
