Babylon 5 Movie through Studio JMS

[Delenn_of_Mir]

If Joe did 'BSG" it, Sheridan would be a woman and Delenn would follow the original storyline for the character. That would be schweet!

Reboot, remake, continuation, I don't care as long as it still feels like B5 universe. The B5 verse has a special emotionally fulfilling setting, and I want to feel that again.

I don't want to sit in the theatre and feel like I'm watching star trek.

[Sinclair's Fan]

Whatever he makes, I will see, in the theater.

Me too! But it would be nice if he could somehow marry-up the old with the new.

(...just as long as he doesn't BSG it... "Jeez, Sheridan, how are we gonna deal with all these motherfracking Minbari?" "I'm still carrying scars from the motherfracking war, Garibaldi, therefore I'm justified in teaching every motherfracking one of 'em a lesson, starting with Delenn!" [fits her with a ball-gag, ties her up, breaks out the whips and chains] "It's alright, Admiral Cain told me to do it!!!")

Just joking. No I'm not. Or am I? No.

[Marsden]

This is kind of leaning into "if he doesn't do the exact same scripts it's not really B5" territory. Why bother if that's the case? It's Joe's show, Joe doing anything is Babylon 5 because it all came from his head in the first place.

I'm not leaning towards that at all. I'm asking for a continuation from what happened, I don't want it to be finished. However, JMS, quite up front and candidly, said that that is unfeasable and foolish. I actually agree with his assessment. It makes no sense to continue from something so long ago.

I just don't have to like that fact.

Whatever he makes, I will see, in the theater. I'm just griping about details.

Redoing the same stories is really not a good idea. Even with my limited capabilities, I can see that.

[Ubik]

Much as it's fun to speculate, we'll probably be waiting at least 2-3 years before we see anything. The time it's going to take for financing to be agreed, casting to be done and cameras to roll will probably mean we'll be waiting quite some time before we see anything. And that's IF the film can attract the backing it needs to get made.

For now, I'm content that the possibility is there and we may get more B5 in some newfangled form.

[Looney]

From what Jan posted about his previous discussion of a reboot I am not so sure it sounds like he is going for a clean slate on the arc. It sounds like he is starting over, but what she quoted doesn't sound like he is completely throwing out everything. He might just be starting over and telling the same story in a new way.

Either way, as I've said before, if this project is financially successful the sky is the limit. If it abandons the old arc then there is every possibility the old arc could find new life in other in other ways. If UNTITLED BABYLON 5 MOVIE, or U.B5.M. as I like to call it , makes enough money JMS might be able to convince WB to release some things that tell more of the old arc. That is if JMS is interested in doing projects in the old arc in comic or book or audio drama or straight to digital formats.

[JoeD80]

This is kind of leaning into "if he doesn't do the exact same scripts it's not really B5" territory. Why bother if that's the case? It's Joe's show, Joe doing anything is Babylon 5 because it all came from his head in the first place.

[Marsden]

But I wonder, would JMS still care to tell those stories if he's producing movies in the new B5 continuity? Does the new continuity mean the death of the old continuity in JMS's mind, or can they co-exist? Will he want to tell stories in both? I for one hope he does. Even if it means only getting old B5 stories in the way of novels or comics.

I don't know how this could mean anything but that the universe is "finished"

I don't want it to be finished, and this will certainly finish it. Before this it was hopeless, but I still hoped for more.

ie. it was only as dead as Marcus, now it's as dead as Refa.

Jan said a couple of pages back to one my posts, "Then it wouldn't Babylon 5", well that's my point it won't be Babylon 5 it will be something new with it's name.

[Ubik]

I think it's unlikely JMS would go back to the old continuity - don't think of it as abandoned, merely as finished. That story is done. The new setting would give JMS an opportunity to explore those unused story ideas in new ways. (That might be part of the appeal, in fact.)

I tend to agree. A clean slate would be best for all concerned.

[Jonas]

I think it's unlikely JMS would go back to the old continuity - don't think of it as abandoned, merely as finished. That story is done. The new setting would give JMS an opportunity to explore those unused story ideas in new ways. (That might be part of the appeal, in fact.)

[Sinclair's Fan]

Does the new continuity mean the death of the old continuity in JMS's mind, or can they co-exist?

Man, I hope it's not the death of the original, and that they can co-exist, or even merge somehow.

It's hard to talk about this subject without mentioning potential stories, and we can't talk about potential stories because of the legal nightmare that poor ol' Joe faced once before... but there were definitely things he mentioned having ideas for previously that we never got to see, (and I'm still hopefully we might yet see them!).

Things that I'm sure he mentioned included the Telepath War and the tragic death of Lennier, the stuff to do with David Sheridan's 16th Birthday, the meeting of the spaceships Liandra and Excalibur, (okay! So I'm the only person who liked LOTR! So what?!), and of course Londo's Lost Tales instalment.

Also, without mentioning any story ideas, I'd like to state my fondness for the colour green, whilst also asking "is the 'text speak' for something that happened before, simply 'B4' perchance?" Just a harmless question, no legal headache intended....

[Jan]

No telling if JMS would ever return to the original continuity. I guess it would depend on whether there was a particular story he wanted to tell?

When it comes to books or comics, of course, WB still owns all of those rights. So a company would have to approach WB to make that deal and then make a deal with JMS for whatever they might be interested in. So I think the movie would need to be *very* successful in order for us to see anything like that. Probably 'Pirates of the Caribbean' type successful.

Jan

[JesseW]

Forgive me if this has been brought up/discussed already...

If the new rebooted film is financially successful (And for the record, I understand why this movie has to be a reboot, and I am very excited for it), does anyone think JMS will ever play in the original continuity again?

I would really like to see some of the stories JMS had planned, but never told, come to fruition. For example, I'd love to see the story of the telepath war told in detail, whether it be in novel form, comics, or live action.

But I wonder, would JMS still care to tell those stories if he's producing movies in the new B5 continuity? Does the new continuity mean the death of the old continuity in JMS's mind, or can they co-exist? Will he want to tell stories in both? I for one hope he does. Even if it means only getting old B5 stories in the way of novels or comics.

I know this is looking ahead quite far, and it's assuming the best case scenario that the movie happens, is financially successful, and WB actually gets off their encounter suited butts and does something with it, but this kind of speculation is what this forum is for, right?

[Babel-17]

Yeah, but thankfully people on sites like that are hardened to getting misleading articles.

On gaming websites, "when it's done" has become a standard response from game developers when asked to respond to stories about the imminence of a game's completion. With hardware like videocards, "Release" now comes in two flavors, soft and hard. "Soft" is when a company announces the release, and maybe lets a reviewer see it, and "hard" is when people can buy it and use it.

http://arstechnica.com/author/lee-hutchinson/ That's the author. I think that site is used to editing their articles, if you want to contact him.

[Jan]

It's like watching a game of 'telephone' seeing all the inaccuracies creep in.

...the new script will be targeted at a 2016 theatrical release

Where'd that come from? What was said was that it would be *made* in 2016, not released. Post-production takes a long time these days.

Jan

[Babel-17]

By way of arstechnica, /. now has the story.

http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/14/08/10/1435233/babylon-5-may-finally-get-a-big-screen-debut

Ars Technica reports that "J. Michael Straczynski will shortly begin work on a rebooted big-screen version of his 1990s sci-fi TV series [ Babylon 5]." From the article: According to JMS's latest announcement, the new script will be targeted at a 2016 theatrical release and will be a reboot of the series rather than a continuation. This is necessary for both dramatic and practical purposes—the series was in regular production from 1994-1998, and the cast has simply aged too far to credibly play themselves again during the series’ main timeline. Additionally, several of the foundational cast members — Michael O'Hare, Andreas Katsulas, Richard Biggs, and Jeff Conaway — have passed away. ... The movie rights to the Babylon 5 property remain in JMS's hands, but the creator is hopeful that this time around, Warner Bros. will choose to finance the film instead of passing on it. Nonetheless (at least according to TV Wise), JMS is prepared to fund the movie through his own production company if necessary — something that wasn't a possibility ten years ago — suggesting that B5 will in fact come to the big screen at last.