New Babylon 5 Animated Movie is “A Love Letter to the Fans”

We knew something was on its way from Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski but we weren’t expecting this: a new animated movie from Warner Bros. Animation and WB Home Entertainment.

Straczynski described it as: “Classic Babylon 5: raucous, heartfelt, nonstop, a ton of fun through time and space, and a love letter to the fans.”

It might not be as well known as his comic-book work, but Straczynski actually has a background in animation – writing episodes of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Captain Power, The Real Ghostbusters, and other 1980s action favorites.

We know that Bruce Boxleitner is back – which is also fitting, as he’s got some hefty voice acting chops, reprising his most famous other science fiction role for the 2012 show Tron: Uprising – but we’re going to have to wait another week for more details.

Straczynski added in a follow-up tweet:

“I'm ridiculously excited about the #B5AnimatedMovie because it feels the most B5-ish of anything we’ve done since the original show. Warners was terrific in giving me the freedom to write the story I wanted, and the animation is phenomenal. It’s fun, deep, emotional, classic.”

Warner Bros. Animation has a great track record, stretching right back to Batman: The Animated Series and stone-cold classic Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), all the way through to more recent adaptations of classic comic-book storylines like The Dark Knight Returns, Year One, Long Halloween, and The Doom That Came to Gotham.

Babylon 5 couldn’t be in better hands.