Wednesday 10 May 2023

BABYLON 5: THE ROAD HOME gets cast list and release window

The Babylon 5 animated film announced last week now has a name, synopsis and cast list.

The animated film will be called Babylon 5: The Road Home and its synopsis is as follows:

"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."

The film's cast consists of:

  • Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan
  • Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova
  • Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari
  • Bill Mumy as Lennier
  • Tracy Scoggins as Elizabeth Lochley
  • Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander
  • Paul Guyet as Zathras and Jeffrey Sinclair
  • Anthony Hansen as Michael Garibaldi
  • Phil LaMarr as Dr. Stephen Franklin
  • Andrew Morgado as G'Kar
  • Rebecca Riedy as Delenn
  • Piotr Michael as David Sheridan
  • Mara Junot as Reporter/Computer Voice

Boxleitner, Christian, Jurasik, Mumy, Scoggins and Tallman reprise their roles from the original television series. The roles of Zathras, Sinclair, Garibaldi, Franklin, G'Kar and Delenn have been recast as, unfortunately, their original actors are no longer with us (Babylon 5's cast has been noted for an unusually high attrition rate since the show ended in 1998).

Original writer/creator J. Michael Straczynski writes and executive produces, with Matt Peters as director and Rick Morales as supervising producer and Sam Register as Executive Producer.

The film has been produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and will be released this summer. A precise date and release venue has not been announced yet.

The new animated film takes place in the same continuity as the original live-action series, which aired five TV movies and 110 episodes across five seasons, from 1993 to 1998. The show spawned a 13-episode spin-off series, Crusade, and two further TV movies in 2002 and 2007. The show has also generated a substantial amount of spin-off material, including two tabletop roleplaying games, a couple dozen novels, a wargame, spacecraft miniature kits and action figures. The series was noted for its pioneering use of CGI and pre-planned serialised story arcs at a time when most television shows still relied on an episodic model.

In addition to this animated project, Straczynski has written a pilot script for a possible reboot of the premise in live action, in a new continuity. This new script was in development at the CW for some time, but recent rumours have suggested that Warner Brothers are developing it directly for a different venue.

No comments: