J. Michael Straczynski, the creator/writer/all-around-mastermind behind the cult ’90s science fiction series Babylon 5, recently announced that a secret B5 project has been completed. On Twitter, Straczynski informed his followers that not only has the project already wrapped, with a firm 2023 release date, but that “all of the main B5 cast members still around participated.” He also said that the project is “the closest thing to the original B5 in tone of anything we’ve done since,” which is hugely exciting to hear.
Straczynski has a long history of being open and communicative with fans online. So it’s not surprising that he would announce a B5 project like this, or that he would further confirm the involvement of actors like Claudia Christian after follow-up questions. But the project in question remains a total mystery as to what it actually is. Is this a standalone movie? A documentary? A radio drama? A recorded table read? A podcast? A video game? An in-depth B5 history book? An animated episode? Straczynski explained that he can’t say what it is yet or even tease what form/medium the project is in, “because that announcement has to come from others”—presumably, a studio or production company or what have you. Supporters of Straczynski on Patreon, however, will get their hands on details first.
The great thing is that the secret B5 project isn't one of those "maybe it'll happen/maybe it won't"…it's done, it has a '23 release date, and it's the closest thing to the original B5 in tone of anything we've done since. As if no time has passed at all. 100% crescent fresh. https://t.co/5N4yRKxvvD
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) August 31, 2022
Done as in done. Finished. And all of the main B5 cast members still around participated. I can't tell you what it is or even what form, because that announcement has to come from others, but I'm very proud of it (and Patrons will, as ever, be first to get the deets.) https://t.co/QZc0zpnY8M
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) August 31, 2022
It looks like we’ll have to wait until SDCC 2023 for the project’s actual debut, though presumably we’ll hear more about what it is in the time between. But knowing there’s a planned SDCC debut means the project will see the light of day in July 2023 barring some sort of galaxy-threatening catastrophe. It’s actually happening! It has already happened! The wheel turns, does it not, Ambassador?
The agonizing part is that, even though it's finished, the project won't be debuted until a big presentation at next year's San Diego Comic Con, after which it will be made available. https://t.co/C6Bogv4D28
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) August 31, 2022
Yes, for those still wondering, everyone in the main cast means everyone in the main cast.
All means all. https://t.co/76XULCPWVL
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) August 31, 2022
Of the main cast, as noted, yes. https://t.co/2FerINMfWl
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) September 2, 2022
This is an exciting announcement for fans of the groundbreaking Babylon 5, which still maintains a devoted fanbase decades after it went off the air in 1998. (The show’s more recent availability on HBO Max also helped new fans discover it.) The fact of the project already being completed and having a release date is an additional breath of fresh air for B5 fans. The Babylon 5 reboot created for The CW is still apparently happening but is awaiting a pilot pickup after delays on The CW side, and Warner Bros. had for many years stubbornly and grumpily sat on B5. So news that some kind of B5 project Straczynski is jazzed about actually exists in its finished form is huge. And it’s an even bigger treat to hear that the cast members participated.
As I wrote in my run-down about what we know regarding the series reboot and the potential for cameos, far too many of Babylon 5’s luminaries are gone today. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still an absolutely incredible main cast ready to be involved in Straczynski’s project.
Many of the main actors have passed away—or, as Straczynski put it, are “still stubbornly on the other side of the Rim.” Mira Furlan (Delenn), Andreas Katsoulas (G’Kar), Richard Biggs (Dr. Franklin), Michael O’Hare (Sinclair), Stephen Furst (Vir), Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan), and Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi) are all lost to us.
Thankfully, our side of the Rim retains Bruce Boxleitner (John Sheridan 1.0), Claudia Christian (Ivanova), Peter Jurasik (Londo), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Patricia Tallman (Lyta), Andrea Thompson (Talia), Jason Carter (Marcus), Tracy Scoggins (Lochley), the legendary Walter Koenig (Bester), and others from a brilliant ensemble cast.
So what does the project have in store for us? I don’t know, and I don’t care, because Straczynski sounds happy, and the actors jumped on board. I’m not picky! A podcast would be amazing. A table read would be amazing. Hell, a series of TikToks made with the remaining cast members would be the thing that actually got me to care about TikTok. But Straczynski saying that the project is “the closest thing to the original B5 in tone” suggests that it could be some kind of fiction-based production. As long as I get to see (or hear, or read) Peter Jurasik acting as or talking about Londo Mollari again, I consider this a home run.
What are your hopes for this top-secret Babylon 5 project?
(via J. Michael Straczynski on Twitter, image: Warner Bros.)
