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Babylon 5 Movie Starts Filming in April
An anonymous reader writes "According to comingsoon.net, the first theatrical Babylon 5 movie, "The Memory of the Shadows" starts filming in April. The story was written by series creator J. Michael Straczynski."
Steven Beck will direct a big screen adaptation of the popular sci-fi TV series Babylon 5. The movie, titled The Memory of Shadows, is intended for theatrical release and was written by series creator J. Michael Straczynski. Production Weekly reports that the project starts filming this April in the UK.
In "Shadows," the technology of the ancient and extinct Shadow race is being unleashed upon the galaxy by an unknown force, and Earthforce intelligence officer Diane Baker, whose brother was recently killed in a mysterious explosion, it out to find out who is behind the intergalactic conspiracy.
Joining her is Galen, a techno-mage who has been charged with keeping the technology out of the hands of those who would abuse it.
Well, this is news that is long awaited. It looks like this may be a follow-on to the Crusade spin-off series since it is dealing with leftover Shadow technology. Plus Galen, being present in Crusade, draws a link between those two. There have been rumors that Lando might show up in it...and where he goes G'Kar goes too. JMS also made some comments a while back about having to rewrite the script some after Richard Biggs died (Dr. Franklin) so clearly it looks like some B5 crew from the original show might show up beyond the ambassadors.
Can't wait to hear more news.
*Waiting for JMS to release some info directly still
There were actually five Bab5 movies (/me fires up the FTP client):
I: In the Beginning (Earth-Minbari War, editorialized by Londo)
II: Thirdspace (Set Between winning the Shadow War and the assault on earth, the B5 crew finds a portal to another dimension left by the Vorlons)
III: The River Of Souls (Elaboration on the Soul Keeper concept introduced in one of the first episodes)
IV: The Legend of the Rangers -- which, by the way, I quite liked. I think it's been much maligned. Ranger movie
V: A Call To Arms -- this set the backplot for the spin-off Crusade.
These were all TNT (?) Movies of the Week.
While you're waiting for the movie, check out the fan-created flight sim, complete with a detailed story, realistic physics, and great ship models:
http://ifh.firstones.com/
Enjoy!
"By the by, anybody else find Zathras to be the funniest time-travelling alien ever?"
:(
Yes, sadly Tim Choate who brought the character to life on screen passed away 2 and a half months ago.
He will be missed.
Last episode? The episode you're describing was the season finale for season 3, right at the height of the shadow war story arc. There were two complete seasons after that...
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Crusade was buggered over by TNT. Anyhow, keep in mind that the first season of B5 was episodic and only hinted at what was to come. Crusade was the same; JMS actually planned to have the ship find the cure early in the second season, discover some massive plot involving earth and shadow technology and end up essentially on the run from Earth Force.
Which lead me to fear this film will be more Crusader than Babylon5, and I for one did not really find the whole Crusader spinn-off that great.
It became to much of a Star Trek clone.....(One ship travelling through space encountering weird aliens...)
Wheres the fun in that? B5 was all about grand campaign and universe-spanning alliances.
The thing about Crusade was that only the first 13 episodes were filmed, which are usually where you
introduce the viewers to the series, basic premise, characters, etcetera. The show didn't have a chance to get started.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Two scripts were written by JMS but not filmed - episodes 14 and the season finale. They were published at a long gone website and I had a chance to read them.
In episode 14, the ship finds the ship that attacked the Captain's ship long ago (when Galen
rescues it), and the Excalibur manages to toast it. In the season finale, they find another one of those, track it down as it flees to its base, where they are confronted by defending fighters, which are... get this... starfuries! Yup, that ship was built by humans using Shadow tech.
JMS hinted that the plague thing was just the way to introduce the series, and that a cure would be found early (possibly as early as season 2!), but Excalibur would become a FUGITIVE ship in the meantime...
No, not like trek.
"Trust me - I know what I'm doing."
- Sledge Hammer
The Lurker's Guide (already in the threads)
B5 quotes
More quotes
I Found Her - Free great B5 game (worthed a look)
Probably much more interesting links. I *really* liked B5. It helped me see things differently and actively participated in my "growing up". I published a Babylon 5 book of quotes if you're interested. Like many others, I fear a movie won't be good enough. One of the strengths of B5 was telling a story over countless episodes, not only 2 hours. Time will say.
"We create the future, with our words, our deeds and with our beliefs"
- Lady Ladira, B5: "Signs and Portents"
Animoog.org