I definitely want to see this, especially if J. Michael Strazynski is doing it. Not only am I a fan of the original, but Babylon 5 is the greatest science fiction series of all time. I'll be the first in line for this remake.

I'd be reluctant to trust this story to just *anyone*, but Stracynski is one of the writers who might just be all right on it. Good for him, I wish him luck; I'd risk the $$ on a ticket. B5 was the best SF on television since Star Trek, and even surpassed it in some ways (serious talk from a lifelong Trekkie). If anyone can kick it up a notch, he can.

JMS is one creator of dramatic SF that could do this right, but why, oh WHY did he have to jump on the Remake Bandwagon, dammit!?

I was never able to catch Babylon 5 because as soon as the opening credits rolled I dozed off......

Maybe if FP does well, WB will FINALLY give him the budget needed to do more B5.

Oh yea, JMS can do it. The man can write character driven stories. I will definitely be there to see this one.

If JMS is at the helm, I have faith that perhaps just one remake among the hundreds of disasters being made, might actually work out. Babylon 5 will always be the best sci-fi series ever to air, and I've grieved that the spin-off series died a premature death. I would like to see it green-lighted to begin over, and tell the entire 5-year arc.

Okay, now I'm curious?

Given the end of the original "Forbidden Planet", how can you do a sequel?

Hey, nice legs! The lady's, too!

"I was never able to catch Babylon 5 because as soon as the opening credits rolled I dozed off......"

Really? You must have a very short attention span. Not enough explosions for you?

Shucks,
I thought you were announcing a new series from the Babylon 5 universe and i was al for that. I doubt anything will ever be done again with this universe but it is continues to be a faverate of mine. The spin off series di nothing in the ratings so is is not likely but who knows maybe is another twenty years when everything else has beed remade someone will remake Babylon 5.

Straczynski loved Forbidden Planet so much that he wrote a major plot point from it into Babylon 5. The first time I saw FP, all I could think of was "The Great Machine on Epsilon III". He's obviously a big fan of the classic movie and I hope that translates into a great remake. Even if it does well, though, I fear that the Babylon 5 universe is finished. Joe tried three times to get it jumpstarted again and all three failed. I know that "faith manages", but the actors have all moved on (and some very important ones have passed away), and I get the idea that JMS is finished playing in the B5 sandbox - for a while, anyway.

J. Michael Strazynski is a titan. B5 rocked and was/is probably the greatest science fiction "soap opera" in space ever done. I am sure he is (capable) of making this a very good remake...

JMS is a genius. Babylon 5 was premium Sci Fi. Looking forward to this. But who are they going to get to play the Anne Francis character? Better be as beautiful.

Since his script for World War Z is not going to be filmed. JMS needs to keep busy. I dont think that he will visit his B5 universe again for a while.

Sounds good with JMS at the helm.

B5 was great but certainly not the best show ever, especially that 5th season.. WTF happened to the war between normals and telepaths anyway..

But anyway, I think Straczynski is an awesome dude and I'm not a fan of old sci-fi so I'm looking forward to this..

I do have hopes for this unlike other remakes JMS seems to have respect for the material Filling in the backstore would be great. As for a sequal no problem does anyone think that this was the only voyage the c57D made? It was very much like one episode of Trek all they have to do is go to another location with a new story. Besides if the Krell were that advanced they probably left traces in other solar systems Maybe those off planet didn't take part in the Id debacle.

Now if someone would just make a film from Alan Dean Foster's "With Friends like these" and are we ever gonna get a Ringworld film?

They finally waited long enough for the original cast to be mostly too old for a real sequel and so they need to remake it. I hope they use Robby as we remember him and a disney looking alien. I'm just happy JMS is the man here.

I dunno... I'm a big fan of JMS, but Forbidden Planet was my all-time favorite movie as a kid. Some movies are just so iconic that a remake -even a great remake - simply will never 'feel right'.

re: sequel. Maybe it wasn't Altair 4 that blew up. Maybe Morbius (with his enhanced intellect) knew Earth would come looking for him and he devised something that just made it appear the planet was destroyed. That's why the 'destruct button' was so conveniently close at hand. Maybe Morbius isn't really dead, but just placed that thought in everyone's head. Maybe.

A "Dallas"-type cliffhanger?!?

To say that the audience would feel "cheated" by that, would be the understatement of the century.

"Really? You must have a very short attention span. Not enough explosions for you?"

If I liked a lot of explosions than I wouldn't watch masterpiece theatre every week, it was just so blahhhh. imo

OOOOH! This actually is a movie i would like to see remade.And m.j.s. is doing it ! all the better.As long as the siffy channel never puts it's hands on it .i'm liking the idea.BTW ''text entered wrong my arse!

They should have 'John Noble' from 'Fringe' play Dr. Morbious

First, Crusade was fantastic and I was crushed after its demise, as I was extremely active in trying to get it to survive (no thanx to Sci-Fi)

As for this remake...must get sex into it. There's a nude woman in a bath holding the string and there's a dog looking at the woman looking at the string and the Archbishop is blessing the string...why not Archbishop Vicarios? Nope, he's dead, we'll get is brother, might be cheaper. Anyway the string in the bath...

why can't he remake season 5 of b5 then they can finish it properly!

I am really aick of these folks raping my past.It never seems to end this remake/reboot krap.Forbidden Planet is a perfect example like the film PSYCHO that should never be remade.you need to watch history and see where we are at now.
This film is one of the greatest examples of scifi cinema.All elctronic soundtrack before anyone ever thought of using electronics as soundtrack.Excellent story and little violence so it is good for children like me when i saw this in elementary school in the 1960's.
JMS could do so much more with his talent.I really hate these remakes and am sure to boycott this one.I will watch the old film and love it.
There is no originality anymore in corporate film land.

I think it's GREAT that JMS FINALLY gets to write some good Science Fiction for a major motion picture. Sure, I'd love to see a sequel to this yet unmade movie, but even more I would love to see JMS have the opportunity to continue his own original work - - ESPECIALLY CRUSADE!

P.S. : CAPTCHA STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN!

Don't mess with the classics! That being said, a sequel in mind? That doesn't sound good... Hollywood needs a big serious competitor, that might spur higher quality/creativity (and they definitely are in need of)

I was lucky enough to obtain the novelization of the movie. Rather interesting. Like the novels of the lat 19th century such as "Dracula", it was written as a series of log entries and journals from avrious points of view. It also expanded upon the ideas in the movie. For instance, it was revealed that the animals such as the monkey, the deer and the tiger were NOT descendents of naimals retrieved by ancient Krell. Instead, they were manifestations conjured by Morbius through the Krell Machine. The monkey that Robby "repelled" from the table was later run over by the tractor. When "Doc" Ostro performed an autopsy, he discovered the animal was filled with gelantinous matter, no real organs. That's because Morbius was not a biologist and didn't really know how organic systems really worked. The animals were really only animated through the force of his sybconcious will amplified by the Machine.

Since then I thought what would make a freaky "Twilight Zone" type spin on the story would be this...

What if Morbius actually killed his wife in a manner similar to the other crew. Maybe she initially agreed with Morbius about wanting to stay on Altair, but after the Beleraphon was vaporized, the realization they were truly marooned eventually got to her. the stress between the couple grew until Morbius unleashed the "Monster" (probably unwittingly) and killed her. The horror of her death drove him to a delusional state, convincing himself she died of natural causes. Making things more tragic, what if she were pregnant at the time? Remember the comemnt Morbius made about the Machine seemingly reconfiguring itself some 16 years prior? What if that resulted from Morbius achieving the ultimate with the Machine, creating life, a "daughter"? Only, he's deluded himself into believing his wife gave "birth" to her.

Having Altaira turn out to be a "construct" of the great Machine could result in all sorts of scenarios, from the theme of what it is to be human, having the poor girl fade away or melt upon the destruction of the planet, or anything in-between.

Just some random thoughts.

Sincerely,

Bill

If Joe can keep the studio idiots off his back, I think he'll do a good job. The problem he faces is that the original movie holds up very well and is still better than 90%+ of the SF movies over the past 50+ years. He'll have to work hard to produce a movie that's actually more enjoyable than the original (which I watch once a year or so).

Also, if you go back and watch the original, you'll see how thoroughly Gene Roddenberry ripped it off in creating Star Trek. The whole movie plays like a 2-hour ST episode.

The weakest part of the original are the creature effects, which look a bit Disneyesque. But a lot of the other effects still hold up remarkably well, given they were done in the 50s.

Re: More B5. The main story had a beginning and an ending, so extending the series doesn't really make sense. However, the normal-psi conflict sort of vanished after the Byron arc ended. Maybe there could be a B5-style "The Plan" telling the story from Psy Corps' point of view. Then we can see lots more Lyta (the most attractive woman in the series IMO) and Bester (the most fun villain).

I just hope the new Robby is more streamlined that the original. The original moved like an arthritic elephant, and the only uglier one was "bubble-headed booby" on Lost in Space.

I am utterly astounded. Aside from the quotes, which give us nothing new, this news is over a year old. The Hollywood Reporter, and the rest of the world, was talking about this on Oct 31, 2008! (see http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ib356467890c70c6678ca082f85346929 for the details)

Great job, SciFi Wire, breaking a story that's more than a year old. Got any casting scoops on The Watchmen to share?

I too am looking forward to what JMS does with this and with Lensmen.

As for him adding to the B5 universe -- if WB ponies up the right amount of $$ to do it right I certainly hope JMS tells a few more stories.

...but only if WB treats the franchise with the respect (and the $$) it deserves.

WTF happened to the war between normals and telepaths anyway..

You can read the Psi Corps Trilogy by J Gregory Keyes.
I trust JMS with Forbidden Planet its the suits I don't trust.

Writing icon or no writing icon. If J Michael touches one gyroscope on Robbie, there will be a lot of upset fans about. I didn*t know about his involvement in WWZ but it sounds interesting.

If they let JMS do it his way , then this one has good chance of being a success. As for sequel, why not?

If JMS does it, I'll go see it. Nuff said!

You all do know that B5 was just a knock off of "The Lord of the Rings trilogy right?

Um, not to be a wet blanket... but JMS is only WRITING this. He is not producing or directing.

@baylorfan: As always, it ain't what you do, it's how you do it. JMS freely admits to incorporating *some* elements of LOTR in the story of B5, but calling it "just a knock off" does it no justice at all. Have you actually seen the show? If so, what in LOTR did Straczynski parallel with the root cause and the resolution of the Shadow War? That all seemed pretty original to me, and definitely non-Tolkien.

There was a sequel, it was called Star Trek

Wow. SciFi Wire is only a year behind on this one. They want to do a sequel, that's fine by me but, a remake of the original.... not needed. It's a classic.

Remember, the Krell had been to many other planets, including Earth. I had pecked out a possible sequel idea about 20 years ago in which it was discovered that Morbius had downloaded the entire Krell knowledgebase into a memory drive that he'd hiden inside Robbie. The knowledge base contained a list of planets that the Krell had visted, including several that had been designated as 'outposts' and one that was a beta site for the 'mind machine'

Well, at least they didn't hand this over to Ron Moore or his buddies at "We Re-Imagine Inc." So it has a real chance of being a hit. As long as they don't try to dumb it down or mess too much with cannon. Forbidden planet is arguably the most classic SciFi movie that there is. If they pooch this one up... Well... I don't think the fans would appreciate it... It could get ugly.. :)

TauCetiPrime. That is a very interesting idea for a follow up film. They might even be able to get more then sequel out of that one.

I had Robbie hijack the ship in an RPG concept! If this film manages to keep the charm of the original... I will be surprised but very very grateful! As a way of launching a franchise? The parallels between the voyages of C-57D and NCC-1701may be too close. But with a good story arc...

2 points:
First; When a classic movie is remade, the remake in no way detract from the original. Your DVD of the original is NOT going to suddnly self-destruct because a remake is done. So, if you prefer the original, fine. But it is still possible to enjoy a remake as well.
Personally, I think the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is one of the greatest films ever made. The remake certainly is not, but I still enjoyed it very much - and I own both DVD's!

Second; B5 was indeed a GREAT series - one of the 3 best ever made (along with Original Trek and The X Files - put them in whatever order you like), but it is OVER, and it ended beautifully, so please let's not disturb a series that is resting in contented, well-deserved peace!

I would have been pleased to hear this up until about six months ago, when I had the massive misfortune of seeing "Bablyon 5: The Lost Tales". I can't remember ever having seen such tripe. It was rather embarrassing, as I'd convinced my kids to watch it with me on the grounds that B5 was one of the best sci-fi series ever. They now no longer trust my judgement at all.

How are they going to find someone of leslie's quality to be the captain?

love the original the remake should be a tremendous showing.. JMS is the master of sci-fi and why isnt the sci-fi channel not showing Babylon Five..im a trekke but COME ON MAN!! this is by far the best series to include star trek.. yes i said it..

I was pissed off that Hollywood was remaking this movie. Pissed off until I read that JMS was writing the script. Now i'm actually looking forward to this which I find a bit shocking.