Babylon 5 series creator J. Michael Straczynski recently revealed at Comic-Con 2014 that he is planning on writing a new feature film reboot based on his beloved sci-fi TV series, which ran for five seasons between 1994 and 1998.
J. Michael Straczynski said that he plans on getting the screenplay locked down by the end of 2015, with production tentatively scheduled to begin sometime in 2016. While the feature will be a complete reboot of the Babylon 5 concept, the writer stated that he wants to bring in Babylon 5 series stars such as Bruce Boxleitner and Mira Furlan to play new characters.
"I'd love to see Bruce as the President of the Earth Alliance."
The writer/producer also hinted that he hopes Warner Bros., the studio that produced the original series, will come on board and give the green light for this "big budget" feature, which will reportedly cost between $80 million and $100 million. However, J. Michael Straczynski owns the feature film rights, so even if Warner Bros. doesn't come on board, he will still move forward by funding and producing the movie through his Studio JMS banner.
Babylon 5 spawned a number of TV movies such as Babylon 5: The Gathering, Babylon 5: Thirdspace, Babylon 5: The River of Souls, Babylon 5 - The Legend of the Rangers - To Live and Die in Starlight and Babylon 5: The Lost Tales - Voices in the Dark.
J. Michael Straczynski also pitched a number of different Babylon 5 feature films throughout the years, the first in 1996 that centered on The Telepath War. The second, which was entitled Babylon 5: The Motion Picture, centered on President Sheridan investigating the deaths of a White Star crew. In 2004, he pitched another project entitled The Memory of Shadows, which was the closest to starting production until financing could not be secured.
Aside from Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski's writing credits include features such as Changeling, Ninja Assassin, Thor, Underworld Awakening and World War Z. He also created Jeremiah and is writing and producing the new Netflix series Sense8.