All is not well in the dream-given form. The long-awaited Babylon 5 reboot is in trouble, as the original series creator J. Michael Straczynski has recently indicated on Twitter. The news has come as a blow to dedicated fans of the original series, which aired between 1994 and 1998, ultimately spawning 110 episodes and several TV movies. The show provided early career highlights for a slew of actors, including Mira Furlan (Lost, Just Add Magic), Claudia Christian (Blood of Zeus), Peter Jurasik (3rd Rock From The Sun), and many others.
So what's the problem, and can the reboot be saved? We hope so! Here's the lowdown on how a project that was all but greenlit earlier this year now seems to be heading for the rocks -- and what, if anything, can be done about it.
A Babylon 5 Reboot Has Been a Long Time Coming
Sci-fi fans have waited a very long time for a Babylon 5 reboot. In 2006, production began in Canada on a direct-to-DVD anthology show titled Babylon 5: The Lost Tales, but only one episode was completed before the project was abandoned.
Creator Straczynski was undeterred. Although he does not have ownership of the TV rights, he retains the film rights and reported that he was working on a movie script as long ago as 2014. More recently, movement on a return to television occurred last year, as The CW expressed interest in developing the series. Straczynski duly got to work penning scripts and sketching out the show's arc.
However, in spite of Straczynski's boundless enthusiasm for the project, production has never actually begun. Fans' concerns were allayed only by the consistently positive mood music coming from The CW throughout this year. But all that has changed in the last fortnight.
A Loss of Support
One of the most daunting obstacles now in the path of the reboot is that one of its biggest champions at The CW has parted ways with the company. Mark Pedowitz, the company's CEO, was reported earlier this month as stepping down after more than a decade in charge. The instigator was the takeover of The CW by Nexstar Media Group, a Texas-based company that owns over 100 local television stations across the United States.
Firstly, after months of speculation over The CW's future, the production of the reboot was pushed back into 2023. Then, news broke of the imminent sale of the loss-making company in July, and Pedowitz's departure followed shortly thereafter.
Pedowitz was a confirmed fan of Babylon 5, and J. Michael Straczynski counted on the CEO's support for the reboot. As recently as last month, Straczynski reiterated that support from The CW was solid, noting that he was merely waiting on the production order from the company; Straczynski also pointed out that he was working on not one but two new Babylon 5 projects, one involving some of the original cast, at the same time.
Now those plans have been thrown into doubt. The new guard's plans for The CW have yet to be announced. Still, speculation has been rife that future programming will veer away from original drama, moving instead in the direction of news, non-fiction shows, and Canadian imports -- a far cry from the glory days of the 2010s, when the network was home to a range of hit shows such as The Vampire Diaries, Jane The Virgin, and the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. If such speculation is warranted, the days of the Babylon 5 reboot could be numbered.
What Can Be Done to Bring Babylon 5 Back?
As always, the measure of a TV or movie franchise is in the dedication of its fans, and Straczynski wasted no time in letting Babylon 5's substantial fanbase know of the reboot's plight, offering up the hashtag #B5onCWin23 on Twitter last month as a way for fans to let The CW (and one of their parent companies, Warner Bros.) know of their support.
Whether such a grassroots Twitter campaign will convince the powers that be of the project's viability remains to be seen. The fanbase, while singularly dedicated, is rather smaller than for other well-known sci-fi franchises of the same vintage, such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and The X-Files. Babylon 5 does have a substantially extended universe, encompassing board games, several comic book series, and over 20 novels. Still, in order to move the needle, the loyalty that justified the creation of such projects would need to be demonstrated in very large numbers.
The way forward for Babylon 5 fans, then, is clear. If you want to see more of your favorite programming, get tweeting, reposting, and spreading the word about the last best hope for peace!