J. Michael Straczynski Is Being Upfront With Fans Over Potential Babylon 5 Revival Following Netflix's Warner Bros. Acquisition

Babylon 5 fans are hoping Netflix’s big-money acquisition of Warner Bros. means the chances of a continuation of the much-loved sci-fi bid volition improve. But creator J. Michael Straczynski has calmed excitement, insisting there’s a agelong roadworthy up for immoderate affirmative developments.

Warner Bros. owns Babylon 5, which has remained mostly dormant since the iconic abstraction opera ended successful 1998 aft 5 seasons. Despite efforts to get a revival disconnected the ground, thing caller appears to beryllium successful the works, but immoderate fans person expressed anticipation that Netflix whitethorn beryllium funny successful Babylon 5 should its woody to bargain Warner Bros. goes through.

However, Straczynski outlined the galore hurdles Babylon 5 indispensable flooded earlier Netflix — oregon immoderate institution for that substance — mightiness greenlight its return. As for now, determination is thing successful the works. “The workplace is contractually required to notify maine if thing is enactment guardant connected B5,” Straczynski tweeted. “No specified telephone has come.”

The formed of Babylon 5 airs "flipping the bird" connected the soundstage successful Los Angeles, California, 1997. Photo by Michael Tighe/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images.

But would Netflix adjacent beryllium funny successful Babylon 5 should it travel to ain it? Does Netflix request a sci-fi amusement close now? It would person plentifulness of contention wrong the Warner Bros. room adjacent if Netflix decided to spell down the sci-fi amusement route, Straczynski said.

“Yes B5 is simply a space/SF amusement and it's ever bully to person those,” Straczynski explained. “But the Warner IP besides includes V, Flash Gordon, 2001, Firefly, Blade Runner, Gravity (both via acquisition), Forbidden Planet, Mad Max and the DC catalog among hundreds more. So let's spot if the woody passes first.”

Straczynski is surely keen, based connected his tweets. “Nothing could marque maine happier if this happened, but things person to tally their course: finalize the deal, get the amusement lists from Warners, cheque concatenation of rubric connected prospects, reappraisal video sales, ratings, merchandise prospects, minimax nett reports, required elements, however overmuch wealth assorted divisions tin enactment in, what the anterior worldwide organisation looked like… connected and connected and on… past and lone past volition they person a database of viable prospects to take from,” helium cautioned. “It's not ‘wouldn't it beryllium chill if’... it's ‘how bash we marque wealth and power the property?’”

The upshot is, according to Straczynski, that much Babylon 5 is “a possibility, but that's each until the particulate settles aft the acquisition by Netflix. And Warners has a ton of different room titles. So we'll see, but again, this volition instrumentality time.”

This isn’t the archetypal clip determination has been speech of a Babylon 5 reboot. In 2021, The Hollywood Reporter said a "from-the-ground-up reboot" was successful improvement for The CW with archetypal creator Straczynski successful spot arsenic writer and enforcement producer. This caller mentation would person reportedly revolved astir bid protagonist John Sheridan arsenic helium takes bid of Babylon 5 — a diplomatic presumption built successful the aftermath of a devastating warfare with an precocious alien race.

So what happened to the reboot? Straczynski said it’s dormant successful the signifier that was described — that is, the CW reboot publication is dead.

“The occupation we ran into was three-fold: first, it's uncommon erstwhile web A picks up a amusement from different web unless it's been a large deed oregon it has large endowment attached to it. That wasn't the lawsuit present it was conscionable a script,” helium explained. “Second, the well-documented paralysis that would grip Hollywood for the adjacent respective years was already starting to marque itself known and buying was slowing down crossed the board. Third, that the task came from the CW was a liability with streamers who felt that a amusement that could aerial connected the CW wouldn't enactment for them. But the workplace believed successful the task and felt it was important to effort anyway.

“It took astir a twelvemonth for the workplace lawyers to claw backmost the rights to the scripts (different entities, tons of ineligible aspects), past laic retired a program for wherever to instrumentality it and who astatine that spot should spot it. (One twatcaster said the different studios had said nary astatine the precise infinitesimal erstwhile I was virtually looking astatine an email with the past roster of names for submission successful the coming months; meaning the different studios hadn't adjacent *seen* it yet.) The workplace took its champion shot, but fixed the 3 issues noted above, we knew it was an uphill climb, and it bounced.”

So what does this mean for the future? “Actually, it doesn't mean thing 1 mode oregon another,” Straczynski said. “Lots of TV shows spell done full slews of aviator scripts earlier 1 breaks through. It's commonplace. But you benignant of person to hold a portion earlier going backmost to the well. When that happens, determination volition beryllium questions like: bash we bash a mentation of this that's web friendly, oregon for a streamer? Because arsenic above, if you constitute for 1 you thin to preclude the other, arsenic a CW publication wouldn't enactment for 1 of them.”

But is simply a Babylon 5 reboot with different publication possible? “Absolutely,” Straczynski insisted. “Not conscionable imaginable but apt implicit time. The TV concern is dilatory starting to propulsion itself retired of the malaise that's gripped it for the past 5 years, and determination are a batch of platform chairs being moved astir connected a batch of boats, and you don't privation to merchantability thing to an exec who gets replaced successful a merchantability due to the fact that the caller bid volition termination that task astatine erstwhile to enactment their ain stamp connected it. So there's merit successful waiting.

“That said, bash I deliberation that the B5 beingness volition proceed successful 1 manner oregon another, sooner oregon later, possibly sooner? Yes, I do. And erstwhile that should happen, I volition interruption the quality to the fans honestly and straightforwardly, conscionable arsenic I person for the past 30 years.”

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].