Warner Bros. Discovery is planning more new Babylon 5 content ahead of the upcoming Blu-ray release of the series. For almost two decades, a single executive has put the brakes on all pitched Babylon 5 projects. Apparently, this executive was not a fan and now that they’re retired, Warner Bros. Discovery is jumping at the chance to complete a few new Babylon 5 projects.
“There was one person at the studio who hated all things Babylon 5 and stood in the way of anything being done with the show, ever, for close to 20 years,” said J. Michael Straczynski as reported by IGN. “Once that person finally retired, the floodgates opened.”
Since retiring, Warner Bros. Discovery is putting more focus on the fan-favorite series. The studio reached out to Straczynski to get the ball rolling on several upcoming projects. There is already an animated movie in the works in addition to a newly reimagined series, which has been put on temporary hold until the writers’ and actors’ strikes end.
“And everyone – everyone – at Warners who I’ve dealt with since has been ridiculously supportive of the show, positive and welcoming,” said Straczynski.
The animated film Babylon 5: The Road Home is full of original cast members, including Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, Peter Jurasik, Bill Mumy, Tracy Scoggins, and Patricia Tallman. The film will be released on August 15th, though some streaming services are offering pre-orders now. Babylon 5: The Road Home will play on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu, and YouTube.
The Blu-ray collection is available now to pre-order. It will be officially released on December 5th and contain the complete series in a twenty-one disc set.
“This is essentially the same as the very nice 4:3 remaster done for HBO-Max, which matches the original broadcast,” said Straczynski. “But putting it onto Blu-Ray increases the bitrate so it should look even better than it did there.”