J. Michael Straczynski Is Being Upfront With Fans Over Potential Babylon 5 Revival Following Netflix's Warner Bros. Acquisition
Babylon 5 fans are hoping Netflix’s big-money acquisition of Warner Bros. means the chances of a continuation of the much-loved sci-fi series will improve. But creator J. Michael Straczynski has calmed excitement, insisting there’s a long road ahead for any positive developments.
Babylon 5 fans are hoping Netflix’s big-money acquisition of Warner Bros. means the chances of a continuation of the much-loved sci-fi series will improve. But creator J. Michael Straczynski has calmed excitement, insisting there’s a long road ahead for any positive developments.
Warner Bros. owns Babylon 5, which has remained largely dormant since the iconic space opera ended in 1998 after five seasons. Despite efforts to get a revival off the ground, nothing new appears to be in the works, but some fans have expressed hope that Netflix may be interested in Babylon 5 should its deal to buy Warner Bros. goes through.
However, Straczynski outlined the many hurdles Babylon 5 must overcome before Netflix — or any company for that matter — might greenlight its return. As for now, there is nothing in the works. “The studio is contractually required to notify me if anything is put forward on B5,” Straczynski tweeted. “No such call has come.”
The cast of Babylon 5 pose "flipping the bird" on the soundstage in Los Angeles, California, 1997. Photo by Michael Tighe/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images.
But would Netflix even be interested in Babylon 5 should it come to own it? Does Netflix need a sci-fi show right now? It would have plenty of competition within the Warner Bros. library even if Netflix decided to go down the sci-fi show route, Straczynski said.
“Yes B5 is a space/SF show and it's always good to have those,” Straczynski explained. “But the Warner IP also includes V, Flash Gordon, 2001, Firefly, Blade Runner, Gravity (both via acquisition), Forbidden Planet, Mad Max and the DC catalog among hundreds more. So let's see if the deal passes first.”
Straczynski is certainly keen, based on his tweets. “Nothing could make me happier if this happened, but things have to run their course: finalize the deal, get the show lists from Warners, check chain of title on prospects, review video sales, ratings, merchandise prospects, minimax profit reports, required elements, how much money various divisions can put in, what the prior worldwide distribution looked like… on and on and on… then and only then will they have a list of viable prospects to choose from,” he cautioned. “It's not ‘wouldn't it be cool if’... it's ‘how do we make money and control the property?’”
The upshot is, according to Straczynski, that more Babylon 5 is “a possibility, but that's all until the dust settles after the acquisition by Netflix. And Warners has a ton of other library titles. So we'll see, but again, this will take time.”