Babylon 5 to return.

[Alex]

A "Babylon 5" reboot is in development at The CW, Variety has learned.

Original series creator J. Michael Straczynski is onboard to write the project. He will also executive producer under his Studio JMS banner. Warner Bros. Television, which produced the original series, will produce the reboot.

The new iteration of the sci-fi series is described as a "from-the-ground-up reboot." In the series, John Sheridan, an Earthforce officer with a mysterious background, 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.

Sheridan was played by Bruce Boxleitner in the original series, with the ensemble cast also including Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, and Richard Briggs. At this time, none of the original series stars are attached to the project.

The original "Babylon 5" ran in syndication and on TNT for five seasons, 110 episodes, and seven TV movies, including the 1993 pilot film. The show is considered one of the best sci-fi series ever made by many critics and won numerous awards throughout its run, including two Hugo Awards and a Saturn Award.

Straczynski followed up "Babylon 5" with the TNT spinoff series "Crusade." The "Babylon 5" franchise also includes novels, short stories, and comic books.

Straczynski's other work includes the Netflix series "Sense8," which he co-created and showran along with the Wachowskis. His feature writing credits include the Angelina Jolie-led drama "Changeling," the action-thriller "Ninja Assassin," the story for the first "Thor" film, and the story for "World War Z." He is also an accomplished comic book writer, having worked for DC and Marvel. He is head of the creative council for a new comics publishing company, Artists, Writers and Artisans (AWA).

Straczynski is repped by A3 Artists Agency and Gendler-Kelly.

[WingedSerpent]

I liked Babylon 5-at least the big Shadow War story line, but this new one being a C show...

Think I'll need to see a few episodes before I make judgement. 

[sprite75]

From what I've heard, JMS has told the surviving original cast that he would like to use them in the new series.  I hope if the surviving original cast returns JMS changes things up a bit and doesn't just make them all relatives/mentors/etc of the new cast.  I mean like, have them in different roles.  Maybe make Bruce Boxleitner into a Minbari, or Peter Jurasik as a Narn.  Or hell, make Bruce into Abrahamo Lincolni.  Maybe see if they'd be willing to play villains instead. 

That all said, if a new B5 comes to light I eagerly await that.

[Alex]

From what I've read elsewhere it seems he plans on doing something like the Battlestar Galactica reboot where they use elements from the original series, but change them up enough that it is its own thing. I was a big fan of the first four seasons of the show, but felt it lost momentum in the final stretch. I'd definitely give a new version of it at least a try.

[Archivist]

RIP Mira Furlan. Sigh. 

[Alex]

Indeed. It is sad how many of the original cast have passed on.

[ER]

I keep hearing how bad B5's special effects were but I don't remember them as bad.

[Alex]

I'd have to say some of the computer-generated stuff isn't great, but it isn't terrible either.