Advertisement

‘Babylon 5’ Reboot Still “Very Much In Active Development”, The CW CEO Confirms

Back in February, after the CW had picked up its pilots for this year and Babylon 5 was not among them, creator J. Michael Straczynski took to social media to assure fans that the reboot was still alive.

That was confirmed this morning by the CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz.

More from Deadline

The CW Upfront: Deadline’s Complete Coverage

“It is very much in active development, I personally spoke with Straczynski back when we picked up the pilot,” Pedowitz said during the network’s pre-upfront press call. “I’m a huge fan of Babylon 5, on a personal basis, I’ve seen every episode of the series. I’ve known Joe for a long, long time. I’d love to bring back that story in some shape or form, I think it’s perfect for the CW.”

Back in February, Straczynski spoke about that call from Pedowitz.

Fall 2022 Primetime TV Grid: No Fox (Yet) As Nets Play It Safe With Much More Of The Same

“Calling the [reboot] pilot ‘a damned fine script,’ he said he was taking the highly unusual step of rolling the project and the pilot script into next year, keeping B5 in active development while the dust settles on the [prospective] sale of the CW,” he wrote. “Here’s the bottom line: Yesterday, Babylon 5 was in active development at the CW and Warner Bros. for fall 2022. Today, Babylon 5 is in active development at the CW and Warner Bros. for fall 2023. That is the only difference.”

The new version for the CW, which Straczynski is writing and exec producing, has been described as a “from-the-ground-up reboot” of the praised 1990s series by Warner Bros. Television. The new version would follow John Sheridan, an Earthforce officer with a mysterious background,, who is assigned to Babylon 5, a five-mile-long space station in neutral space.

New Series On Broadcast Networks In 2022-23: Photo Gallery

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.