I hear a Babylon 5 reboot is in the works

[Yukaphile]

Reported from Tim of Open Airlock Policy a while back. It makes me laugh too, for hardcore conservatives claiming JMS will ruin his own mythos. No, I think it is that he's going to have far less creative oversight. So it's corporate hubris with the original creator brought along merely to soak up blame for bad consumer reception. We've seen this time after time. Also imagine that B5 should not be woke. It was 1990s woke. My problem is the entertainment landscape means you will never get another Jerry Doyle, due to the informal blacklisting of right-wing talent. It's a shame, but what can you do. I'd rather watch the old stuff, but I'm sure the CGI graphics for the remodel will draw in a new snobbish audience who mocks the heart and spirit the older story had. Feh. I hate reboots. But, your thoughts?

[Winter]

JMS has made good shows, comics & movies and he has made bad stories over the years over the last few years, he seems to have a good amount of creative control so all we can do is wait and see and approach this with an open mind.

But to close this out I'll just paraphrase something from It's Just Some Random Guy.

Have their been good reboots over the years? Yes, (She-Ra, Bumblebee (yes that is a reboot for the Transformer film series) the Dark Knight Trilogy, Scarface and True Lies just to name a few).

Have their been bad reboots over the years? Also yes, (I'd name them but I've honestly forgot most of them by now and I don't care enough to go and check).

Can you see the future? No. Can I see the future? No.

So, there's really no way in knowing, no point in asking and there's no point in worrying. I'm not going to judge something until it's out. There will always be people who insult the old, dismiss the new and both assume their always right because their the ones who are saying it. I'm interested to see what comes next and no matter what this WILL be good for the series because no matter what it will draw attention to the original series.

[Yukaphile]

I find it is a rare reboot, and becoming increasingly rarer, that is just as beloved and creative as the original.

[Winter]

I find it is a rare reboot, and becoming increasingly rarer, that is just as beloved and creative as the original.

If you look for the light, you can often find it. But if you look for the dark, it is all you will ever see.

[Yukaphile]

Also, four words. Race-swapped John Sheridan. In this era of oversaturated race swaps, I'm tired of it. It will literally be done just to piss people off. Except lots of fans will get mad that it destroys canon, not that they are bigots, as the inevitable overly defensive rationalization will be.

[Al-1701]

We're probably not going to have a Sheridan. Sinclair will be the "final commander" like originally intended. And don't forget the X.O. was Asian (and a woman) and the doctor was Black in the original concept (the replacement was also Black in the case of the latter).

As for Doyle, I don't think him being "right wing" was made him effective. And, he would have been disgusted with the modern Republican Party and it's current case of "melon mentality" as he would call it.

I'm looking forward to this reboot as I know it's a chance to JMS to try something new with the universe as well as try to do what circumstances kept him from with the original. He's going to need to find that right cast for it, but the talent is out there and JMS is always willing to take on reclamation projects if he thinks they fit the role.

[clearspira]

Also, four words. Race-swapped John Sheridan. In this era of oversaturated race swaps, I'm tired of it. It will literally be done just to piss people off. Except lots of fans will get mad that it destroys canon, not that they are bigots, as the inevitable overly defensive rationalization will be.

Babylon 5 in name only.

[J!!]

To answer all the questions, yes, it’s true, Babylon 5 is in active development as a series for the CW. We have some serious fans over at the network, and they’re eager to see this show happen. I’m hip deep into writing the pilot now, and will be running the series upon pickup. The network understands the uniqueness of Babylon 5 and is giving me a great deal of latitude with the storytelling.

As noted in the announcement, this is a reboot from the ground up rather than a continuation, for several reasons. Heraclitus wrote “You cannot step in the same river twice, for the river has changed, and you have changed.” In the years since B5, I’ve done a ton of other TV shows and movies, adding an equal number of tools to my toolbox, all of which I can bring to bear on one singular question: if I were creating Babylon 5 today, for the first time, knowing what I now know as a writer, what would it look like? How would it use all the storytelling tools and technological resources available in 2021 that were not on hand then?

How can it be used to reflect the world in which we live, and the questions we are asking and confronting every day? Fans regularly point out how prescient the show was and is of our current world; it would be fun to take a shot at looking further down the road. So we will not be retelling the same story in the same way because of what Heraclitus said about the river. There would be no fun and no surprises. Better to go the way of Westworld or Battlestar Galactica where you take the original elements that are evergreens and put them in a blender with a ton of new, challenging ideas, to create something fresh yet familiar. To those asking why not just do a continuation, for a network series like this, it can’t be done because over half our cast are still stubbornly on the other side of the Rim.

How do you telling continuing story of our original Londo without the original Vir? Or G’Kar? How do you tell Sheridan’s story without Delenn? Or the story of B5 without Franklin? Garibaldi? Zack?

The original Babylon 5 was ridiculously innovative: the first to use CGI to create ships and characters, and among the very first to shoot widescreen with a vigorous 5.1 mix. Most of all, for the first time, Babylon 5 introduced viewers accustomed to episodic television to the concept of a five-year arc with a pre-planned beginning, middle and end…creating a brand new paradigm for television storytelling that has subsequently become the norm. That tradition for innovation will continue in this new iteration, and I hope to create additional new forms of storytelling that will further push the television medium to the edge of what’s possible.

Let me conclude by just saying how supportive and enthusiastic everyone at the CW has been and is being with this project. They understand the unique position Babylon 5 occupies both in television and with its legions of fans, and are doing everything they can to ensure the maximum in creative freedom, a new story that will bring in new viewers while honoring all that has come before.

Onward!

I am intrigued and cautously optimistic.

[J!!]

Also, four words. Race-swapped John Sheridan. In this era of oversaturated race swaps, I'm tired of it. It will literally be done just to piss people off. Except lots of fans will get mad that it destroys canon, not that they are bigots, as the inevitable overly defensive rationalization will be.

Babylon 5 in name only.

This right here: this is basically the distilled essence of toxic fandom.

The show isn't even in production yet, and someone's already inventing reasons to hate it. And then someone else comes in to immediately validate that toxic behavior. By the time this thing airs, they'll have so convinced themselves that It'll suck, that nothing will dissuade them. They'll be so invested in their hatred that they won't even give the thing a chance to be good.

If regent history is any indication, we can expect to spend literally years dealing with impotent online tantrums, regardless of whether the show is good or bad.

[Deledrius]

I am intrigued and cautiously optimistic.

Same here. I think he's going about it the only possible way to do it. It may or may not work out, but this is a good start.