Babylon 5

[The Nth Doctor]

Also, there's an opportunity to cast a trans actor in the role of Delenn if they use the character's original transformation arc.

Oh, that's an excellent idea. I would be very curious to see that happen.

Bruce Boxleitner as President Clark... maybe? Claudia Christian is Ivanova's mother? Peter Jurasick as Morden? Patricia Tallman as Bester?

I love the idea of Patricia Tallman as Bester. Same for Peter Jurasik as Morden.

Although I doubt that's the direction JMS will go. But I could be wrong.

I wonder if JMS'll go back to some of his abandoned ideas along with new ones he'll no doubt be doing. Could Babylon 4 replace Babylon 5 midway through this time around? A trans Delenn? Sinclair's original arc?

The possibilities are endless.

Yeah, I am curious about those ideas, as well as how the Shadow War and the Earth Civil War would've originally played out if JMS hadn't decided to cram it all into season 4 thinking he wouldn't get season 5.

Okay. I'm starting to see some potential in a reboot.

 

[DigificWriter]

Bummer that all the articles fail to mention Sinclair (my favorite character and Michael O'Hare gave an amazing performance) and only reference Sheridan.

Sheridan got mentioned because he's the reboot's central character.

 

[valkyrie013]

The Key is the Cast, had magic with Mira, Peter, Andreas, and the rest.
If they find some ho hum ones, it'll fizzle out.

 

[ATimson]

Yeah, I am curious about those ideas, as well as how the Shadow War and the Earth civil war would've originally played out if JMS hadn't decided to cram it all into season 4 thinking he wouldn't get season 5.

I don't think it would've been that far off from what we got. The original season 4 cliffhanger would've been "Intersections in Real Time", so that's only four or so more episodes that would have been gained.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Sheridan got mentioned because he's the reboot's central character.

I missed that in the Hollywood Reporter article. Thanks!

 

[FPAlpha]

Just read about it and i am torn - on the one hand i ask why, because even with all its imperfections and changes JMS had to make due to the reality of producing a SF show it has become a legendary show that still ranks very high in fandom even decades after it aired.

On the other hand JMS now has the opportunity to make the show he always wanted, without the studios yanking his chain and not commiting to the next season, without poor O'Hare going through the troubles he did which made a complete re-write necessary etc. ( plus added bonus - state of the art special effects). I have faith in JMS to smooth out the rough edges of the original and put together something interesting with all the knowledge and experience he has gained making the original and hopefully being less restrained on the reboot.

If WB is wise they'll just throw money at him and only loosely hold the reins and maybe we'll get something awesome out of it - again.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I'd rather see a reboot of Crusade. It had potential, although the music and network interference ruined it and it got cancelled. I'm not terrifically enthused about seeing a reboot of Babylon 5 itself. I know the production values could have been higher given more money but I was happy to watch what was produced. Ah well.

 

[OCD Geek]

Thinking on the Babylon 5 remake more, I can see why it would entice Straczynski. There's so much that he never got to do thanks to either the technology not yet existing to pull it of (Delenn starting out as a dude before transitioning into a woman), cast changes (Having Susan and Talia be an out lesbian couple) or the cancellation of Crusade (The Telepath War).

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. He could make the show star Takashima and Dr. Kyle like it was originally going to. Adding further diversity while shaking things up since they're very different characters than Ivanova and Dr. Franklin. This could be really interesting and worthwhile. That is if The CW gives him the same long leash that they gave Eric Kripke during his Supernatural run.

 

[DonIago]

I feel equal parts hope and trepidation over this news.

Casting information will be very helpful if and when they get to that point.

 

[Ridcully]

I do not like reboots much....
Besides modern times do not seem to be very fertile good stories anymore......
Oh well let us see what happends...but I am not excited.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

My friend and I had a wacky idea. If the new show centers around Sheridan from the start, then Bruce Boxelitner can play Sinclair in flashbacks. He can be the captain of Babylon 4 already... which would set him up for his final destiny.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I don't think it would've been that far off from what we got. The original season 4 cliffhanger would've been "Intersections in Real Time", so that's only four or so more episodes that would have been gained.

Oh, really? I always thought the rest of season four would be the Shadow War and season five was going to be the Earth Civil War.

 

[DigificWriter]

My friend and I had a wacky idea. If the new show centers around Sheridan from the start, then Bruce Boxelitner can play Sinclair in flashbacks. He can be the captain of Babylon 4 already... which would set him up for his final destiny.

Sheridan and Sinclair were only separate characters because of O'Haire's mental problems.

If O'Haire hadn't had to leave, the Sheridan character and his storyline wouldn't have existed.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Yeah, they had the same freaking initials! And the same as JMS's first and last initials to boot.

 

[Steve Roby]

So... what would have happened to this B5 deal if the BBC had said, hey, yeah, let’s talk about you running Doctor Who? Or was that all just a distraction?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

So... what would have happened to this B5 deal if the BBC had said, hey, yeah, let’s talk about you running Doctor Who? Or was that all just a distraction?

Yeah, I've been thinking about the same thing. Maybe he knew he didn't stand a chance of getting Doctor Who, or at least not any time soon since he probably figured someone was already hired, and just wanted to get his name out there to the BBC in case they become interested in using him in the future, even for just an episode or two.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I doubt he would up sticks and move to Wales at his age for the money the BBC could offer.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Sheridan and Sinclair were only separate characters because of O'Haire's mental problems.

If O'Haire hadn't had to leave, the Sheridan character and his storyline wouldn't have existed.

Yeah I’m aware of the history.

Yeah, they had the same freaking initials! And the same as JMS's first and last initials to boot.

IIRC, it’s JMS’s way of signing off his work having them both with the same initials as him.

 

[DigificWriter]

^ My point was this: Sheridan being the central character this time 'round means that Sinclair most likely won't exist.

The only creative incentive I can think of for JMS completely rebooting the property is that it offers him the opportunity to tell the B5 story that he'd originally planned to tell, which was very different than the story that he ended up telling.

 

[David cgc]

We'll probably find out eventually, but I'm curious about how much creative continuity there is from JMS's earlier B5 remake projects. He described plans for a movie in 2014 with a release aimed in 2017 or so. I could've sworn there was also a streaming series remake on the table, possibly for Netflix or for a prospective (at the time) WB service, but I can't find anything about it on-line.