A sneak peek into the upcoming animated film, Babylon 5: The Road Home has been released. Posting to Twitter, writer J. Michael Straczynski shared some first-look images of the reboot following the earlier-released image of the Babylon 5 space station. Straczynski shared four images of the new animated movie, having already revealed them at the Phoenix Fan Fusion convention.
“Folks have been asking what style would be used for the #B5animatedmovie,” Straczynski wrote. “During the Phoenix Fan Fusion convention, with Warner’s permission, I showed the first images from the movie seen anywhere. They have now kindly given the go-ahead to post them online as well, so here we go!” One of the images gives a first look at Zathras — who will be voiced by Paul Guyet (League of Legends) in place of the late Tim Choate, who also voices Jeffrey Sinclair in place of Michael O’Hare — the beloved caretaker of the Great Machine, wearing his trademark brown and white fur coat, whilst the second gives a detailed look at another crew member. A third image shows more of the crew, including Delenn as voiced by Rebecca Riedy (Love, Death, and Robots), who will be replacing the late Mira Furlan, and John Sheridan (voiced by Bruce Boxleitner). The final image shows the new logo for the film.
The new images for Babylon 5 come after the release of the first image in May. The animated image depicts the series’ titular space station orbiting what appears to be the moon. It was released by Warner Bros., with no explanation as to how the station survived its destruction in the Babylon 5 series finale entitled, “Sleeping in Light.” According to the logline released at the time, it is likely that the movie will see the crew in an alternate reality or timeline: “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.”
What Do We Know about Babylon 5: The Road Home So Far?
Babylon 5: The Road Home is a reboot of the original Babylon 5 sci-fi drama which aired from January 1994 for five seasons. The animated film will see the return of several of the series’ original cast members, who will lend their voices to their animated counterparts. Apart from Boxleitner, these include Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova, Peter Juraski as Londo Mollari, Bill Mumy as Lennier, Tracy Scoggins as Elizabeth Lochley, and Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander.
Unfortunately, since the series finale in November 1998, several of the original cast members have passed away and will see new voice actors take on their roles. These include Phil LaMarr replacing Richard Biggs as Dr. Stephen Franklin and Andre Morgado replacing Andreas Katsulas as G’Kar. New characters will also appear in the film, including Mara Junot as a reporter and Piotr Michael as David Sheridan (John Sheridan’s son). The film is written and executive-produced by Straczynski, with Matt Peters (Baby Shark’s Big Show, Green Lantern: Beware My Power) serving as director. Rick Morales (Teen Titans GO! to the Movies) is supervising producer and Sam Register is an executive producer.
Babylon 5: The Road Home will be released this summer. In the meantime, check out this clip from the original series:
