Fans of the Babylon 5 franchise just received some disappointing news. A reboot of the sci-fi TV show is considered possible, though it has been moved to the next development season. Creator J. Michael Straczynski is not pessimistic, despite The CW's delay of the show.A revival of the critically acclaimed 1990s Warner Bros. Television series would reportedly be a "from-the-ground-up reboot" of the original. A synopsis for the new installment n the franchise reads, "The new version would follow John Sheridan, an Earthforce officer with a mysterious background, who is assigned to Babylon 5, a five-mile-long space station in neutral space."While speaking on his Patreon account regarding the show not being ordered, Straczynski said, “99.999% of the time, that’s the end of the road for the project.”While his statement might imply that a reboot will never be developed, CW CEO Mark Pedowitz has not yet canceled the project. Either way, fans have mixed thoughts as some Babylon 5 fans are happy to see that a reboot could be coming next year. Others making it quite clear that they don't want the series to be rebooted. Of course, we know which side Straczynski stands on.
J. Michael Straczynski Wants the Babylon 5 Reboot to Be Created
Straczynski talked about his work relationship with Pedowitz, as well as the potential for the reboot to be created when he explained, “I should mention that Mark is a great guy and a long-time fan of B5. He worked for Warners when the show was first airing. Calling the [reboot] pilot ‘a damned fine script,’ he said he was taking the highly unusual step of rolling the project and the pilot script into next year, keeping B5 in active development while the dust settles on the [prospective] sale of the CW.”
Something noteworthy to point out is Pedowitz's high praise for the screenplay. If the executive did not have confidence in the script, then the project would likely have been ended at this point. His praise indicates that a new show could enter production in the future.
Straczynski added, “Here’s the bottom line: Yesterday, Babylon 5 was in active development at the CW and Warner Bros. for fall 2022. Today, Babylon 5 is in active development at the CW and Warner Bros. for fall 2023. That is the only difference.” Delays in the entertainment industry are nothing new. A moving of the release date should give fans some hope for the potential reboot.
The original Babylon 5 series involved a united government for the entire planet Earth. The show's run lasted from 1993 to 1998. Five seasons of the project were released. Each season revolved around a different main story. Today, the series is regarded as one of the best sci-fi television shows of all time. Much praise was given to the themes of government, religion, and addiction. The show was so popular that multiple spinoffs were produced.
One of the spinoffs was a television show titled Crusade that ran for 13 episodes. Another new installment, a TV film called The Legend of the Rangers debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel. A DC comic book series taking place in the series' universe was released to the public in the mid 1990s. Not all planned projects were created. A theatrical movie named The Memory of Shadows never made it to the production phase.
J. Michael Straczynski will serve as both a writer and executive producer for the new Babylon 5.