The “Nikita” character seems to be a perennial favorite as it has seen many incarnations over the years. Anne Parillaud was the first “Nikita” in Luc Besson’s 1990 movie. This was followed by the 1993 “Point of no return” starring Bridget Fonda and the 1997 TV series “La Femme Nikita” starring Peta Wilson. Originally, Nikita is a woman who gets in trouble with the law and thereafter is given shelter by a secret organization. The organization proceeds to train her and turn her into an accomplished assassin.
The last incarnation of “Nikita” lasted five seasons in its run on TV and CW seems to be banking on that as it has commissioned a pilot for a new rebooted version. The new plot takes off from the point where the old Nikita has gone rogue leaving the requirement for a replacement to be trained. The replacement has been cast and the name may come as a surprise to many because it is Maggie Q.
Traditionally the role of Nikita has been played by a Caucasian, but with the reboot idea, creator Craig Silverstein decided to give it a twist by casting the new Nikita as “Beautiful and Exotic”. Not only will this be Maggie’s highest profile series role, it is so for any Asian actress in the TV business. Maggie has been in several big screen hits such as “Mission: Impossible III” opposite Tom Cruise and “Live free or Die Hard” opposite Bruce Willis, but this will be her biggest TV opportunity if the series does take off.