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 series will improve. But creator J. Michael Straczynski has calmed excitement, insisting there’s a long road ahead for any positive developments.
Warner Bros. owns Babylon 5, which has remained largely dormant since the iconic space opera ended in 1998 after five seasons. Despite efforts to get a revival off the ground, nothing new appears to be in the works, but some fans have expressed hope that Netflix may be interested in Babylon 5 should its deal to buy Warner Bros. goes through.
However, Straczynski outlined the many hurdles Babylon 5 must overcome before Netflix — or any company for that matter — might greenlight its return. As for now, there is nothing in the works. “The studio is contractually required to notify me if anything is put forward on B5,” Straczynski tweeted. “No such call has come.”
But would Netflix even be interested in Babylon 5 should it come to own it? Does Netflix need a sci-fi show right now? It would have plenty of competition within the Warner Bros. library even if Netflix decided to go down the sci-fi show route, Straczynski said.
“Yes B5 is a space/SF show and it's always good to have those,” Straczynski explained. “But the Warner IP also 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 see if the deal passes first.”
Straczynski is certainly keen, based on his tweets. “Nothing could make me happier if this happened, but things have to run their course: finalize the deal, get the show lists from Warners, check chain of title on prospects, review video sales, ratings, merchandise prospects, minimax profit reports, required elements, how much money various divisions can put in, what the prior worldwide distribution looked like… on and on and on… then and only then will they have a list of viable prospects to choose from,” he cautioned. “It's not ‘wouldn't it be cool if’... it's ‘how do we make money and control the property?’”
The upshot is, according to Straczynski, that more Babylon 5 is “a possibility, but that's all until the dust settles after the acquisition by Netflix. And Warners has a ton of other library titles. So we'll see, but again, this will take time.”
This isn’t the first time there has been talk of a Babylon 5 reboot. In 2021, The Hollywood Reporter said a "from-the-ground-up reboot" was in development for The CW with original creator Straczynski in place as writer and executive producer. This new version would have reportedly revolved around series protagonist John Sheridan as he takes command of Babylon 5 — a diplomatic station built in the wake of a devastating war with an advanced alien race.
So what happened to the reboot? Straczynski said it’s dead in the form that was described — that is, the CW reboot script is dead.
“The problem we ran into was three-fold: first, it's rare when network A picks up a show from another network unless it's been a big hit or it has major talent attached to it. That wasn't the case here it was just a script,” he explained. “Second, the well-documented paralysis that would grip Hollywood for the next several years was already starting to make itself known and buying was slowing down across the board. Third, that the project came from the CW was a liability with streamers who felt that a show that could air on the CW wouldn't work for them. But the studio believed in the project and felt it was important to try anyway.
“It took almost a year for the studio lawyers to claw back the rights to the scripts (different entities, lots of legal aspects), then lay out a plan for where to take it and who at that place should see it. (One twatcaster said the other studios had said no at the very moment when I was literally looking at an email with the last roster of names for submission in the coming months; meaning the other studios hadn't even *seen* it yet.) The studio took its best shot, but given the three 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 anything one way or another,” Straczynski said. “Lots of TV shows go through whole slews of pilot scripts before one breaks through. It's commonplace. But you kind of have to wait a while before going back to the well. When that happens, there will be questions like: do we do a version of this that's network friendly, or for a streamer? Because as above, if you write for one you tend to preclude the other, as a CW script wouldn't work for one of them.”
But is a Babylon 5 reboot with another script possible? “Absolutely,” Straczynski insisted. “Not just possible but likely over time. The TV business is slowly starting to pull itself out of the malaise that's gripped it for the last five years, and there are a lot of deck chairs being moved around on a lot of boats, and you don't want to sell something to an exec who gets replaced in a sale because the new order will kill that project at once to put their own stamp on it. So there's merit in waiting.
“That said, do I think that the B5 universe will continue in one fashion or another, sooner or later, maybe sooner? Yes, I do. And when that should happen, I will break the news to the fans honestly and straightforwardly, just as I have for the last 30 years.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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