2023 marks the 30th Anniversary of the premiere of Babylon 5, and Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is celebrating with the release of a brand-new animated film Babylon 5:The Road Home on August 15th.
Cherry the Geek TV spoke with Babylon 5 writer/creator J. Michael Straczynski and director Matt Peters at San Diego Comic Con about the new film.Straczynski has wanted to bring the show back in some form for years and said Warner Bros decided the 30th Anniversary would be a good time. “Fortunately, Warners did the math one day and realized it’s been thirty years and we were coming up on an anniversary–so why don’t we do something as a tribute to the fans and do a celebration of the show and celebration of the cast–so they called me up and asked if I’d like to do it, and i said Where have you been? I signed onboard immediately,” he said.
One challenge that he faced was that many of the show’s original cast members have sadly passed away. “My first email I sent out was to the surviving cast members,” Straczynski said. “I said there’s an opportunity for us to go back into that universe. We’ve lost about half the cast, so we may potentially be working with actors who are portraying some of our fallen friends. If you’re not comfortable with that, say so, and we won’t do it. They all said absolutely–we’re on board. We want to do this to memorialize the performances of the original actors who played those roles with a new generation, but show that that they really created those characters–and then we were off to the races.”
Straczynski says the movie takes place in between the last two episodes of the show. He says the hope is that this is just the beginning for new B5 projects. “Right now, this is the first of one,” he joked. “We are hoping if it does well–and so far it is doing very well–the hope is that we can do more of them. Warner Bros. has to figure itself out in terms of what their agenda is going forward, what with all the corporate buyouts and everything else, but certainly Warners would love to do more, I would love to do more–so we’ll see where it goes.”
You can watch the full interview with J. Michael Straczynski by clicking on the link below:
The Road Home director Matt Peters said he had to crash course the original series before starting the new project. “I was working with Rick Morales (B5:The Road Home Executive Producer) on another project. I was set and slated to do another project with him, and when Babylon 5 was brought to him he knew that I liked sci-fi and good science fiction television. He asked me what I thought. I watched a couple of episodes and immediately said ‘Put me on this.’ From that moment on, I did my research. I watched the entire five seasons. I binged the whole thing. It was probably the most bingeable show I could think of. It was just fantastic.”
Peters says you don’t have to have seen the original series to enjoy the new film though. “One of the great things about it, is that it’s a good stepping on point for any one who hasn’t seen the show. That was one of the things we noticed in the test screenings. There were people who had never seen the show who watched the movie and then immediately wanted to go back and watch the series. It works both ways–if you’re a fan of the show it brings you some satisfaction, and if you’re new it gives you an opportunity to come on board.”
You can watch the full interview with Matt Peters by clicking on the link below:
in the new film, John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) 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.
Besides Boxleitner, Babylon 5:The Road Home also features returning cast members 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 film also stars Paul Guyet (World of Warcraft) as Zathras and Jeffery Sinclair, Anthony Hansen (God of War) as Michael Garibaldi, Mara Junot (Green Lantern: Beware My Power) as Reporter and Computer Voice, Phil LaMarr (Futurama) as Dr. Stephen Franklin, Piotr Michael (Hogwart’s Legacy) as David Sheridan, Andrew Morgado (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) as G’Kar, and Rebecca Riedy (Magic: The Gathering Arena) as Delenn.
Babylon 5: The Road Home was written and Executive Produced by series creator J. Michael Straczynski. The film was directed by Matt Peters (Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons), Supervising Producer is Rick Morales (Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind) and Executive Producer is Sam Register.
Babylon 5:The Road Home will be available digitally and on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-Ray August 15th.
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