Babylon 5 Is Expanding Into Its Own Multiverse
Babylon 5 Is Expanding Into Its Own Multiverse
Babylon 5: The Road Home is set to become the cornerstones of several worlds and timelines. The new animated movie is based on the Babylon 5 television series featured on Warner Bros. Prime Time Network from 1993 to 1998. The new movie debuts on August 15 on VOD and Blu-ray.
According to an interview Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski had with SFX Magazine, Warner Bros. is totally on board for more Babylon 5. The live-action reboot of the series is currently on hold because of the writer and actor strikes in Hollywood.
Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski says the upcoming animated movie, Babylon 5: The Road Home, sets the stage for a new multiverse in the franchise.
Fans are understandably curious about the world/timeline that the proposed series would reveal. The original Babylon 5 was interesting because, in a way, the show’s creator rebooted the series in the second season with Bruce Boxleitner.
The aspect that’s truly mind-boggling is how rich and deep Straczynski made the original Babylon 5 world without the addition of a multiverse.
Boxleitner, as Captain John Sheridan, becomes a more vibrant and rich character than Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) was, and it was this change that really won over the audience and increased viewership.
Straczynski is set to change up the mix again by revealing the multiverse in the animated movie. Who knew a multiverse for Babylon 5 even existed? Of course, all the cool kids have multiverses now.
The aspect that’s truly mind-boggling is how rich and deep Straczynski made the original Babylon 5 world without the addition of a multiverse. There were layers of political intrigue, world-building, and character arcs that defined actors. John Sheridan is arguably the best role Boxleitner ever had.
Even after the original television series ended, the narrative continued in six movies, two television series (Crusade and The Lost Tales), 22 novels, and two tabletop games consisting of an RPG and a wargame. That’s not including the comics, technical books featuring the ships and weapons featured in the franchise, and the trading cards.
Babylon 5: The Road Home
In Babylon 5: The Road Home, Straczynski resets the table once more, and he brings back John Sheridan and other members of the original cast. Bruce Boxleitner returns as Sheridan. Claudia Christian stars as Susan Ivanova and Bill Mumy (Lost In Space) is back as Lennier. The last is interesting because Straczynski has stated that Lennier died in the Telepath War.
Babylon 5: The Road Home features younger versions of the main characters, so that ending for Lennier may still be in place in the timeline the audience is already familiar with.
Having those younger versions in play will be interesting because fans have never seen them. What was John Sheridan like as a cadet or a young officer? Getting to see that in a different timeline will be interesting.
Do young Sheridan and President Sheridan get to meet? Sheridan the captain and president is known as a volatile character. His younger self is probably more raw and abrasive. Chances are good that the two versions won’t get along, unless the fate of the multiverses is at stake.
Straczynski is known for his plotting and character arcs. He wrote show and season bibles that were heavily detailed. Now that he has a multiverse to play with, those bibles have got to be truly prodigious.
Wherever Stracyznski, John Sheridan (at whatever rank), and Babylon 5 go, a strong core audience will follow.
