A couple of years ago came word that a proposed reboot of iconic 1990s sci-fi series “Babylon 5” was in the works at The CW with then CEO Mark Pedowitz a huge fan of the property.
Then the network was sold to Nexstar and it seemed the whole thing was stalled if not outright dead. Now, original series creator J. Michael Straczynski has once again assured fans that the reboot is still very much alive.
Speaking on X, Straczynski responded to a now-deleted post, saying he had a conversation the other day about it. It seems like many CW series in development prior to the sale, the property was then handed back to their respective studio.
Then the strikes last year stalled things once again. This time, Straczynski says austerity measures at the streamers are causing delays:
“Since Warners believes in the project, they negotiated the script back from CW to sell elsewhere. They had to bring it to broadcast networks first but we all knew that wouldn’t be their thing and were about to take it to streamers when the Paramount+ mercer put this on hold until that’s worked out.
Also, the streamers are all reconsidering their business models, budgets, genres, and other stuff, so all submissions are kinda dead right now. Word around town is these issues should be figured out in 6-8 weeks, then they’ll hear pitches/pilots.”
The new “Babylon 5” has been described as a full reboot of the original and will follow John Sheridan, an Earthforce officer with a mysterious background, who is assigned to the eponymous five-mile-long space station in neutral space.
The original series follows the officers and key ambassadors onboard the station during a time of uneasy peace between the five major races. Over the course of the series, both an intergalactic war with the ancient ‘Shadows’, and the rise of a fascist world government on Earth played out.
Source: X
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