The secret Babylon 5 project is... an animated movie
Sean Hollister May 3, 2023 at 11:30 AM CDT
A purple and grey cylindrical space station in space, with big fins and solar panels jutting out.
It’s not clear if the Babylon 5 reboot will ever see the light of day, when you consider how the Writers Guild of America is now on strike and how corporate shuffles had already put its fate in jeopardy. But nine months ago, the creator of the award-winning space drama teased a second secret Babylon 5 project — one that would feature every surviving member of the main cast.
Today, the secret has been revealed: it’s a full-length animated movie from Warner Bros. Animation.
Fuller details will arrive in one week: we don’t even have the title yet. But on his Patreon page, series creator J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) calls it “the most Babylon 5 feeling project we’ve done since the original series [...] not a sidebar story, or an unrelated sequel, or a re-do of anything that came before...it’s new, and it’s absolute, unmitigated fun, classic B5 down to a molecular level.”
We’ve known for over two weeks that today would be the day, thanks to JMS’s tweets and that Patreon page. We’d already seen a new logo and a mysterious acronym, B5:TRH. He also told the world last August that the entire project has long been finished — which means the writer’s strike shouldn’t affect it one bit — and that it won’t debut until San Diego Comic-Con 2023, which begins July 20th.
I consider Babylon 5 a foundational part of my nerd education, one that surpassed Star Wars and Star Trek because it felt more real, with evolving characters and deep political intrigue that still feels relevant today.
And while it hasn’t traditionally been celebrated with the same fan fervor, it’s an incredibly influential piece of TV — it arguably single-handedly pioneered TV shows that told their stories across an entire planned series rather than resetting the agenda every episode. Lost and the Battlestar Galactica reboot get some credit for that, but both Damon Lindelof and Ronald D. Moore borrowed the idea. And don’t get me started on whether Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a ripoff because Paramount executives allegedly stole the whole space station series playbook that JMS pitched.
I’m very interested to see how JMS weaves a compelling story with the remaining Babylon 5 cast. While he famously built “trapdoors” into every season of the original show in case his actors dropped out, a surprising number of the cast died following the end of the series, including Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi), Richard Biggs (Dr. Franklin), Michael O’ Hare (Sinclair), and Stephen Furst (Vir). We wrote a small tribute to Furst when he died in 2017.
The original Babylon 5 got a mild remaster in early 2021 that’s arguably way better than the DVDs; it’s free to stream with ads at The Roku Channel and Tubi, and you can purchase digital episodes via Amazon and iTunes. It left HBO Max this January.
Here I thought this was just going to be a nice documentary. Either way, I'm in.
May 03, 2023, 12:17 PM
flesheatingvirus
Could be a bust, but I’m in, too.
________________________________________
-- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --
May 03, 2023, 12:33 PM
DanH
It's jms writing whatever he wants with no studio interference. If it sucks, it's all on him. I can live with that.
May 04, 2023, 08:26 PM
Dzozer
Cool! I'm looking forward to it
'veritas non verba magistri'
May 05, 2023, 06:10 AM
Blume9mm
Not a fan, not sure I ever even saw an episode... but I'm trying to wrap my head around why an animated movie is dependent on 'surviving' cast members.... it's a damn cartoon right?
My Native American Name: "Runs with Scissors"
May 05, 2023, 06:56 AM
ChuckFinley
quote:
Originally posted by Blume9mm: Not a fan, not sure I ever even saw an episode... but I'm trying to wrap my head around why an animated movie is dependent on 'surviving' cast members.... it's a damn cartoon right?
Watch it. It's free streaming, and then you'll understand. This isn't a show that's distraction by CGI. It is character driven and was a 5 year long continuous storyline done when SW & ST and TV in general only did stand alone or 2 part episodes.
The characters matter. Sad, though, because my favorite characters' actors are deceased.
I will watch, for sure.
_________________________ NRA Endowment Member _________________________ "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C.S. Lewis
May 05, 2023, 07:09 AM
Hound Dog
quote:
Originally posted by ChuckFinley:
The characters matter. Sad, though, because my favorite characters' actors are deceased.
Yeah, B5 had THE greatest character development and story arcs of ANY show I know of. It is what made the show truly excellent.
JMS had a 5-year story planned out. He had flash-forwards and flash-backs, prophecies in early episodes that were revealed later on,. . . People seem to complain that the CGI didn't age well - I don't really notice, or care. To me, the story is the best part of the show, and the CGI is just there to make it look nice. I think the CGI is fine (ESPECIALLY for how old it is) and I still enjoy the show (of course, I would LOVE a Remastered DVD set, like they did with the Star Trek original 1960's version, updated with modern CGI and sound) without changing ANY of the story/plotlines.
The characters were so good. There can never be another G'kar (Andreas Katsulas, RIP), Londo (Peter Jurasik), or Ivanova (Claudia Christian). I didn't much care for Dr Franklin's character, but most everybody else was excellent.
Fear God and Dread Nought Admiral of the Fleet Sir Jacky Fisher
May 05, 2023, 09:51 AM
Dwill104
What’s the plan for characters whose actors have died? Since it’s animated, are they going to just revoice the characters, because that seems a bit disrespectful. If they are going without those characters, they were some pretty key characters and I’m not sure how how good the show is going to be without them.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dwill104, May 06, 2023 08:12 PM
May 06, 2023, 05:48 PM
Loswsmith
I too will give it a chance. Fingers crossed!
___________________________________________ Life Member NRA & Washington Arms Collectors
Mistake not my current state of joshing gentle peevishness for the awesome and terrible majesty of the towering seas of ire that are themselves the milquetoast shallows fringing my vast oceans of wrath.
Velocitas Incursio Vis - Gandhi
May 07, 2023, 07:52 AM
Veeper
quote:
People seem to complain that the CGI didn't age well
I can understand this argument if something is written poorly; however, haven’t any of these fools seen a stage play?
Idiotic Review of Les Miserables:
“I tried to like this old show, but the special effects were cheap and you could tell dead people were breathing. This aged poorly. Would not watch again.”
“The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.”—H.L. Mencken
May 07, 2023, 11:15 AM
Sacramento Johnson
I once heard a description of the difference between stage and film as film is "fake real" while stage is "real fake". Stage requires more "willing suspension of disbelief" as one writer put it. I'm afraid audiences today, especially the younger crowd, have seen too much "fake real" on film and TV to be able to accept the conventions of stage performances and truly appreciate them...
May 07, 2023, 02:30 PM
jsbcody
For those who have never seen Babylon 5, you should watch it. The writing and character development are second to none.
One of my favorite scenes that involve the Techno-Mage and a prophecy for one of the characters:
May 09, 2023, 06:46 PM
Chowser
Love it. I was rewatching it on hbomax but they took it off. I ended up finding my dvds. watching all the B5 movies now.
I think I still have my VHS tapes in storage from the old days when I taped them off TNT.
Not minority enough!
May 09, 2023, 07:32 PM
m1009
Oh, we loved B5! Watched it when we could, and then got the dvds when they came out. So many things corresponding to reality too.
May 09, 2023, 09:33 PM
lyman
a few years ago I watched it on again, on some website, not sure what it was,
a few episodes,, like most series, sucked, but were important in the overall story,
I read somewhere also years ago, that it was the first show to get space flight correct ,
many shows prior, and some after, had ships, fighters etc that flew like they were in atmosphere, whereas B5 did not
The other thing to keep in mind about the CGI is they were the pioneers of they way CGI is used, and like the near complete serialized story, they had to figure things out themselves. The first season (at least) was all rendered on Amiga computers and Babylon 5's budget never got over $875,000 an episode while the Star Treks and seaQuest of the day cost between $2-4 million on episode.
It also helps they never went over budget so WB let them do whatever they wanted without any studio notes.
May 10, 2023, 11:12 AM
2BobTanner
--------------------- DJT-45/47 MAGA !!!!!
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." — Mark Twain
“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” — H. L. Mencken
May 10, 2023, 11:43 AM
ChuckFinley
TubiTV has it free right now.
The CGI didn't stand up at the time, so it had no chance to age well. BUT - it didn't matter because the story and character arcs were so good.
_________________________ NRA Endowment Member _________________________ "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C.S. Lewis
May 11, 2023, 05:10 AM
DanH
We've got a picture and more information on Babylon 5: The Road Home.
‘Babylon 5: The Road Home’ Voice Cast Unveiled (Exclusive) J. Michael Straczynski's project brings back the original stars as well as new additions.
Aaron Couch
A week ago, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski revealed that a new animated film from the franchise was in the works, and now more details are coming to the surface.
Babylon 5: The Road Home will continue the story he started in the 1990s, with the logline stating, “Travel across the galaxy with John Sheridan as he unexpectedly finds himself transported through multiple timelines and alternate realities in a quest to find his way back home. Along the way he reunites with some familiar faces, while discovering cosmic new revelations about the history, purpose, and meaning of the Universe.”
Returning Babylon 5 castmembers include Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan, Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova, Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari, Bill Mumy as Lennier, Tracy Scoggins as Elizabeth Lochley and Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander.
Straczynski wrote the film and executive produces. Matt Peters, known for Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, directs, with Rick Morales serving as supervising producer. Sam Register is the executive producer on the project.
The voice cast also includes Paul Guyet as Zathras and Jeffery Sinclair, Anthony Hansen as Michael Garibaldi, Mara Junot as Reporter and Computer Voice, Phil LaMarr as Dr. Stephen Franklin, Piotr Michael as David Sheridan, Andrew Morgado as G’Kar and Rebecca Riedy as Delenn.
Babylon 5 began life as a film that aired on TV in 1993, and the ratings were strong enough that Warners ordered a series that ran five seasons and 110 episodes. Straczynski has continued expanding the story of Babylon 5, a 5-mile-long space station seen as neutral ground for various alien species to interact amid the backdrop of a threat of war. It spawned multiple feature-length TV films, comics and novels, as well as the spinoff series Crusade.
Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment are plotting a summer release for the new animated feature.
Straczynski has plugged the new film with words such as “raucous,” “heartfelt” and “nonstop,” and called it a “love letter to the fans.”
May 11, 2023, 07:03 AM
ChuckFinley
If they have Mollari then they will have to explain the absence of Vir, perhaps.
_________________________ NRA Endowment Member _________________________ "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." -- C.S. Lewis
