Auf Facebook hat sich J. Michael Straczynski ausführlich zum BABYLON 5‑Reboot auf The CW geäußert. Da nicht jeder auf Facebook ist oder der Plattform traut, möchte ich das Statement hier wiedergeben.
To answer all the questions, yes, it’s true, Babylon 5 is now in active development as a series for the CW. We have some serious fans over at the network, and they’re eager to see this show happen. I’m hip deep into writing the pilot now, and will be running the series upon pickup. The network understands the uniqueness of Babylon 5 and is giving me a great deal of latitude with the storytelling.
As noted in the announcement, this is a reboot from the ground up rather than a continuation, for several reasons. Heraclitus wrote, »You cannot step in the same river twice, for the river has changed, and you have changed.« In the years since B5, I’ve done a ton of other TV shows and movies, adding an equal number of tools to my toolbox, all of which I can bring to bear on the question: if I were creating Babylon 5 today, for the first time, knowing what I now know as a writer, what would it look like? How would it use all the storytelling tools and technological resources available in 2021 that were not on hand then? How can it be used to reflect the world in which we live, and the questions we are asking and confronting every day? Fans regularly point out how prescient the show was and is of our current world; it would be fun to take a shot at looking further down the road.
So we will not be retelling the same story in the same way because of what Heraclitus said about the river. There would be no fun and no surprises. Better to go the way of Westworld or Battlestar Galactica where you take the original elements that are evergreens and put them in a blender with a ton of new, challenging ideas, to create something both fresh and familiar.
To those who have asked why we’re not just doing a continuation…for a network series like this, it can’t be done because over half our cast are still stubbornly on the other side of the Rim. How do you telling continuing story of our original Londo without the original Vir? Or G’Kar? How do you tell Sheridan’s story without Delenn? Or the story of B5 without Franklin? Garibaldi? Zack?
The original Babylon 5 was ridiculously innovative: the first to use CGI to create ships and characters, and among the very first to shoot widescreen with a vigorous 5.1 mix. Most of all, for the first time, Babylon 5 introduced viewers accustomed to episodic television to the concept of a five-year arc with a pre-planned beginning, middle and end…creating a brand new paradigm for television storytelling that has subsequently become the norm. That tradition for innovation will continue in this new iteration, and I hope to create additional new forms of storytelling that will further push the television medium to the edge of what’s possible.
Let me conclude by just saying how supportive and enthusiastic everyone at the CW has been and is being with this project. They understand the unique position Babylon 5 occupies both in television and with its legions of fans, and are doing everything they can to ensure the maximum in creative freedom, a new story that will bring in new viewers while honoring all that has come before.
Der Kern der Aussage ist deutlich:
So we will not be retelling the same story in the same way because of what Heraclitus said about the river. There would be no fun and no surprises.
Es wird also eine Neuerzählung im Stil von BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, keine direkte Kopie der ersten Serie. Und er erläutert auch, warum es keine Fortführung der Ur-Serie wird: Weil leider viel zu viele der Besetzung schon »beyond the rim« sind und er die Geschichte ohne sie nicht weiter erzählen möchte. Was ich für nachvollziehbar halte.
Warner dürfte auf der Suche nach einem Science Fiction-Franchise mit einiger Popularität sein, denn sie haben keins mit dem sie gegen Disneys STAR WARS und Paramount/CBS´ STAR TREK anstinken können. Sollte der BABYLON 5‑Reboot erfolgreich sein, könnte daraus ein weiter reichendes Franchise werden. Warner Bros. hatte ja damals Fortsetzungen von BABYLON 5 sehr halbherzig umgesetzt, weswegen die nie so richtig in Fahrt kamen. Mit dem Reboot könnte das anders werden. Zumindest falls sich die Altfans überzeugen lassen. Auf der anderen Seite besteht die Welt 25 Jahre später auch nicht nur aus Altfans …
Bild JMS von JMS, gemeinfrei
