Lurkers rejoice, your ship has finally come in! We’ve picked up a transmission from the far reaches of the galaxy that says The CW is rebooting Babylon 5. Described as a “from-the-ground-up reboot” of the original series, the project hails from original Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Straczynski will write the new version of Babylon 5, which is said to revolve around John Sheridan (originally played by Bruce Boxleitner), 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 travelers, 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 B5 crew in the line of fire as the last, best hope for the survival of the human race.
In addition to penning the script, Straczynski will also executive produce via his Studio JMS. Babylon 5 originally came onto the science-fiction scene as a one-off movie titled Babylon 5: The Gathering. When viewers watched the movie, they couldn’t get enough. It wasn’t long after seeing the returns that Babylon 5 was picked up for a series. Starring Michael O’Hare, Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle, and Mira Furlan, Babylon 5 is set in the mid 23rd century, when the Earth Alliance space station Babylon 5, located in neutral territory, is a major focal point for political intrigue, racial tensions and various wars over five years.
If the Babylon 5 reboot is picked up to series, it would mean that another beloved IP is setting up camp at The CW. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting on my Stargate reboot. Let me know where we’re at with that CW. It’s been way too long and my body is ready.
