‘Babylon 5’ Animated Movie “Coming Out Very Soon” According to J. Michael Straczynski
The show’s original creator has announced that fans will be able to watch a Babylon 5 animated movie this year.
The show had a familiar underlying idea to it – a plethora of alien races and humans trying to co-exist on a space station (Babylon 5 – a hub for diplomatic and trade meetings). Its plots were darker and focused on complex conflicts that wove into a larger story, and its multifaceted characters evolved as the story moved forward. It was groundbreaking.
Love it or hate it, Babylon 5 changed television with its use of tech and pre-planned story arc that tossed out the endless story-of-the-week approach that was standard at the time. You can see its influence in nearly every TV series out right now – whether it’s sci-fi or not. It ran for five seasons starting in 1993 and spawned several direct-to-TV movies to supplement the main story before it wrapped in 1998.
Babylon 5 Animated Movie & Reboot
Back in 2021, original series creator J. Michael Straczynski announced that he was working on a live-action reboot series for the CW. The plan was to bring in new actors, plus add more ideas and influences from the ever-changing real world. He mentioned that he was working on the pilot as part of that announcement. There hasn’t been any major news about that project since, but it’s not entirely dead. Straczynski has said they’re waiting for a production order to go ahead.
While that’s been at the forefront, something else has been created in secret with the cast. Something fans will be able to watch this year. Straczynski dropped the news on Twitter…
And just to be clear, this brand new original animated movie is already finished and in the can. So it’s 100% real, happening, and coming out very soon.
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) May 3, 2023
He didn’t share details about what kind of animation, or where the movie will debut. We’ll have to see what gets revealed next week – maybe a teaser trailer? Fans can hope. While we all wait, there’s an acronym to ponder – B5:TRH – and a logo for the movie.