Babylon 5 Creator To Reboot The Series For The CW
In the early 1990s, science fiction TV shows set in space were at the highest of heights. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was in full swing, having successfully kicked off the new franchise in the late 1980s. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" premiered in January of 1993, and in the midst of all of that, another show came out that was also set on a space station full of aliens from all walks of life: "Babylon 5."
The titular space station was a hub for people to comingle, learn from one another, trade, and prepare for intergalactic war. While that does, in fact, sound like the same premise of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", the concept for "Babylon 5" came first. Creator J. Michael Straczynski even revealed that he pitched "Babylon 5" to Paramount 6-12 months before "Deep Space Nine," though it premiered a year later in January of 1994.
Even with a smaller budget and without the support of a tried and true franchise, "Babylon 5" flourished for five seasons, spawning several TV movies. It's been a while since Straczynski returned to the world of "Babylon 5," though interest in the show has been rising after an HD remaster began streaming on HBO Max.
Thankfully, fans of the classic sci-fi series finally have some great news: "Babylon 5" is being rebooted for The CW.
John Sheridan returns to the Babylon 5 station
The new "Babylon 5" project for The CW is billed as a "from-the-ground-up-reboot," per Deadline, though the story is still set to focus on John Sheridan (originally played by Bruce Boxleitner) as he takes over command of the five-mile-long space station known as Babylon 5. In the original series, Sheridan found himself taking leadership after the disappearance of the station's previous commander, Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare).
Despite the same focal point character, there's no word on what direction the new story will take, and how much inspiration it will take from the original's plot. Still, long-time fans will obviously be hopeful that some familiar characters will return like Londo Mollari, G'Kar, Michael Garibaldi, and Susan Ivanova. A modern examination of the Shadow War, which comprised most of Season 2 through Season 4, would also likely be welcomed.
Creator J. Michael Straczynski hasn't slowed down since his "Babylon 5" days. He's written now legendary comic book stories for both Marvel and DC Comics. It would seem that the next Spidey flick "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is at least partially adapted from Straczynski's infamous "One More Day" storyline. He also co-wrote the groundbreaking Netflix series "Sense8" alongside the Wachowskis. Bottom line: the writer has a lot more under his belt since the last time he set foot on the "Babylon 5" station.
As of now, all we know is that "Babylon 5" is coming back, that Straczynski is still at the helm, and John Sheridan is still our commander, but we will eagerly be awaiting more info.