You might remember hearing about plans for a Babylon 5 reboot that would air on The CW. The news was met with excitement by fans of the classic sci-fi series, but despite talk of a separate project coming our way next year, this one appears to have crash-landed and seemingly hasn't come close to taking off for some time now.
The CW will soon be owned by Nexstar Media Group, and the latest update from creator J. Michael Straczynski (via SFFGazette.com) indicates that the fate of this reboot is going to be decided by the end of the month.
The announcement about a new take on Babylon 5 was made in 2021 prior to the Warner Bros. Discovery merger and The CW being offloaded to the highest bidder. While the network has since said the project remains alive, Straczynski is calling on fans to make their voices heard. Yesterday evening, the Thor scribe managed to get the series trending on Twitter at #1.
Whether that will be anywhere near enough remains to be seen, though back in February, the writer praised The CW Chairman Mark Pedowitz and said the reboot's pilot is a "damned find script." Unfortunately, it just doesn't feel like Babylon 5 is, or ever really has been, a huge priority for the network, particularly in the midst of such sweeping changes.
The fact it was initially pushed into next year's pilot season was a promising sign earlier this year, but now it looks like the clock is ticking and a final decision is about to be made. The CW is expected to change greatly under new ownership and that regime may not be looking to develop a pricey sci-fi series even if it is based on a popular franchise.
Stay tuned to SFFGazette.com for updates.
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