‘Babylon 5’: J. Michael Straczynski Developing Reboot For The CW
Emmy-winning space opera ‘Babylon 5’ could be about to take to the skies again, as original creator J. Michael Straczynski is working on a reboot of the series for The CW. Note – this is not a continuation or spin-off but a “from-the-ground-up” reboot of the show.
The original series launched in 1993 with the feature-length pilot, ‘Babylon 5: The Gathering’. The drama focused on long arcs depicting personal and political drama on board a five-mile-long space station at a time of looming war between the Centauri and the Narn.
The reboot would revolve around John Sheridan (played by Bruce Boxleitner in the original series), an Earthforce officer with a mysterious background, who is assigned to Babylon 5, a five-mile-long space station in neutral space, a port of call for travellers, smugglers, corporate explorers and alien diplomats at a time of uneasy peace and the constant threat of war. His arrival triggers a destiny beyond anything he could have imagined, as an exploratory Earth company accidentally triggers a conflict with a civilization a million years ahead of us, putting Sheridan and the rest of the Babylon 5 crew in the line of fire as the last, best hope for the survival of the human race.
Visionary creator J Michael Straczynski penned 92 of the 100 eps of the original show, and that control and ambition allowed a large cast the time to develop a soaring, intricately detailed and ground-breaking show. It is regarded as the first TV series to introduce viewers to the concept of a five-year arc, with a defined beginning, middle and end. Straczynski picked up a sack full of awards for the series over its five-season run, including two Hugo Awards, the Saturn Award, the Space Frontier Foundation Award, and the Ray Bradbury Award. The show itself also earned five Emmy nominations and two wins (for makeup and special visual effects). More recently, Straczynski wrote, developed and served as showrunner (with the Wachowskis) on the much-beloved Netflix drama ‘Sense8’.
Whether this leads to anything is anyone’s guess, but it is interesting news! Particularly as it is the original creator behind it, and it is not a continuation, but a total reboot of the show. We’ll let you know if and when we hear more.
