Posted in: CW, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: b5, babylon 5, j. michael straczynski, jms, preview

JMS Shares "Spiffy" Babylon 5 Logo, Teases "Wonderful" News Next Week

J. Michael Straczynski shared a look at a "spiffy" Babylon 5 logo and teased that some "wonderful" news was on the way next week.

So it looks like J. Michael Straczynski has some great news to reveal next Wednesday, and it's definitely something that Babylon 5 fans will want to know about. While we know that it's not about JMS's "from-the-ground-up" reboot (the potential WGA strike has put a hold on any movement on that for now), it's definitely for something that required a "spiffy new variation" on the show's logo JMS shared earlier today. "What's this? Why, it's a spiffy new variation on the #Babylon5 logo. It can't be for the reimagining 'cause that's on hold pending WGA issues, so what could it *possibly* be for? Hmm. Maybe we'll find out more one week from today," JMS teased in a tweet. "Spread the word: something 'wonderful' is coming." So we're guessing that it's about the secret project that JMS announced last year that involves "all of the main B5 cast members still around." While specific details haven't been released, JMS previously confirmed that the project was done and would see the light of day in 2023 – possibly after a rollout at next year's San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC).

Here's a look at JMS's tweet from earlier today letting B5 fans know to keep next Wednesday, May 3rd, focused on their radars:

A Brief History of JMS's Babylon 5 Reboot Project

JMS first revealed that the pilot had not been picked up but that then-The CW President Mark Pedowitz spoke with him to confirm that the pilot was still in active development back in February of this year. JMS began his update by referencing the biggest news surrounding The CW over the past few weeks and how it would play a factor in "how  many pilots, and what sort, could be picked up during this transition." That transition? The rumored (and now long-finalized) sale of the network by Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Global (previously ViacomCBS) to Nexstar. As JMS wrote, "pre-existing deals" and prior "commitments" would then play heavily into the decision-making.

After realizing that the Babylon 5 pilot had not been picked up, JMS shared the outreach that Pedowitz did to explain the pilot's status. "I received a call from Mark Pedowitz, President of The CW. (I should mention that Mark is a great guy and a long-time fan of B5. He worked for Warners when the show was first airing and always made sure we got him copies of the episodes before they aired because he didn't want to wait to see what happened next.)," JMS revealed. "Calling the pilot 'a damned fine script,' he [Pedowitz] said he was taking the highly unusual step of rolling the project and the pilot script into next year, keeping B5 in active development while the dust settles on the sale of the CW."

In response to a question about the status of the reboot, JMS shared that "some significant progress" was being made. But that was before a potentially major, industry-wide Film & TV obstacle reared its ugly head. Earlier today, the members of the Writers Guild of America voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike on May 1st if current negotiations can't lead to a new agreement by that time. Leading up to the vote, studios & producers began pulling back on production development as a positioning move against the writers. And because of that, JMS tweets, the project is in a holding pattern until there's a deal. "The pain in the ass is that we were just making some significant progress on this count," JMS write in his tweet. "Then, a few weeks ago, all TV/film development stopped to start putting the screws to writers ahead of a strike, so like everyone else in town, we [are] in a holding pattern.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!