how some new Babylon 5!

[GDS_Starfury]

 

https://twitter.com/straczynski/status/1653799076641779712

[SirAndrewD]

Hooray!  Our last best hope for peace victory!

[Staggerwing]

Hopefully this won't end up imploding like Babylons 1 through 3 or disappearing mysteriously like Babylon 4.

[Sigwolf]

Animation would definitely not be my first choice, but I suppose new animated B5 is better than no new B5.

[SirAndrewD]

I will say my enthusiasm is tempered.

JMS's success in reviving B5 after the initial show/movie run hasn't been stellar. 

Legend of the Rangers was unwatchable for me.

[JasonPratt]

With the cast having aged out, and many having died off, an animated film would have the advantage of being able to use as much of the original cast as possible looking as young as necessary for the time setting, plus casting professional voice actors for soundalike matching as close as possible.

Plus sfx won't cost especially more for any given second of running time: you can animate a planet exploding about as easily as drawing and animating a conversation, after all.


This admittedly doesn't factor in writing quality, which as noted hasn't been JMS' forte since the original series ended (not only for B5 projects but for other things, too.)

[SirAndrewD]

With the cast having aged out, and many having died off, an animated film would have the advantage of being able to use as much of the original cast as possible

If this is connected to the project JMS announced last year, this won't really involve the original cast, that project was a reboot not a sequel.  He had said the reboot  will follow his original plan for B5 that got thrown out the window when Michael O'Hare left the show and he had to scramble and change the story to fit with a new protagonist.

If it's the same project, it also won't be constrained by the problem if his brief premature cancellation that made him shove everything into Season 4.

Now, he'd been prior talking about the reboot being a full series with CW in talks with him, so perhaps this is a shot at getting that greenlit.   

[JasonPratt]

I had provisionally assumed the animated feature would be back to the original continuity, precisely because he had been angling for a reboot live-action series.

However, if he finagles an animated series for the reboot, I will not complain!

(Also I really like Season 4 of the original series: I regard the writing quality as spiraling off afterward.)

[SirAndrewD]

Yeah, I'm not sure which way this will go.  As you say, it'd make sense if the movie was a continuation as many of the actors are gone or aged out. 

However, he could be wanting to go animated because one of the issues he had in the original run was budget and actors leaving and his, admirable, refusal to recast. 

I'm fine either way. 

[SirAndrewD]

More news. 

The animated movie is a continuation.  The synopsis was released with the title "The Road Home"

"Travel across the galaxy with John Sheridan as he unexpectedly finds himself transported through multiple timelines and alternate realities in a quest to find his way back home. Along the way he reunites with some familiar faces, while discovering cosmic new revelations about the history, purpose, and meaning of the Universe.  Returning Babylon 5 cast members include Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan, Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova, Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari, Bill Mumy as Lennier, Tracy Scoggins as Elizabeth Lochley, and Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander.

The animated format is allowing characters from the original series to be a part of the story even though they've passed on. The voice cast also includes Paul Guyet as Zathras and Jeffery Sinclair, Anthony Hansen as Michael Garibaldi, Mara Junot as Reporter and Computer Voice, Phil LaMarr as Dr. Stephen Franklin, Piotr Michael as David Sheridan, Andrew Morgado as G'Kar and Rebecca Riedy as Delenn."

 

[Sigwolf]

This could be really cool, or a really bad train wreck... I'm not sure which way it will go.   

[GDS_Starfury]

it doesnt matter to me.   

[JasonPratt]

Phil Lamarr is a great choice for Dr. Franklin!

If the reception encourages JMS to do the reboot in animation, too, that would be okay with me. The setup even looks like a Veil of the Force situation, which could lead into the reboot story.

Please don't suck, repeating....

[Redwolf]

Looking forward to this.