J. Michael Straczynski Writing Babylon 5 Reboot For The CW

Babylon 5 is making a comeback after two decades, with original creator J. Michael Straczynski on board to write the new series. Deadline reports that the fan favorite 1990s sci-fi series is in development for a new take from Straczynski, who will write and serve as showrunner if it is ordered to series.

The series is described as a “from-the-ground-up-reboot” and will be executive produced by Straczynski through his Studio JMS production banner. The new series is described as follows:

“The reboot revolves around John Sheridan (played by Bruce Boxleitner in the original series), an Earthforce officer with a mysterious background, who is assigned to Babylon 5, a five-mile-long space station in neutral space, a port of call for travelers, smugglers, corporate explorers and alien diplomats at a time of uneasy peace and the constant threat of war. His arrival triggers a destiny beyond anything he could have imagined, as an exploratory Earth company accidentally triggers a conflict with a civilization a million years ahead of us, putting Sheridan and the rest of the B5 crew in the line of fire as the last, best hope for the survival of the human race.”

The original series ran for five seasons from 1994 through 1998 and starred Boxleitner, Michael O’Hare, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, and Andrea Thompson, among others. The show is credited with launching a new era of visual effects on television at the time and is one of the most well-regarded sci-fi shows of the era. The show had a specific five-year narrative plan that was seen through, something that later became commonplace for series — especially genre — television.