Babylon 5: The Road Home
| Babylon 5: The Road Home | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Matt Peters |
| Screenplay by | J. Michael Straczynski |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Michael McCuistion Lolita Ritmanis Kristopher Carter |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 79 minutes |
Babylon 5: The Road Home is a 2023 American animated film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. The film was directed by Matt Peters, with a screenplay by original Babylon 5 franchise creator, J. Michael Straczynski. The film is the seventh feature film in the Babylon 5 franchise and is the second installment to be released direct-to-video (the first was the Babylon 5: The Lost Tales miniseries), as well as the first animated installment. It makes use of CGI animation.[1] The film was released on August 14, 2023.
Plot
After the end of the Shadow War (but before Babylon 5: The Lost Tales), President Sheridan and Delenn are leaving Babylon 5 for Minbar to further develop the Interstellar Alliance. While participating in the opening of an advanced power station on Minbar, Sheridan begins to feel poorly and upon inquiring learns the power plant uses tachyons. As in War Without End, tachyons cause Sheridan to become unstuck in time and space, jumping away from Delenn and the power plant ceremony.
John first jumps to 23 years in the future to see an older Dr. Stephen Franklin. Sheridan already died 3 years prior but Stephen didn’t have the heart to tell him and lied that he’s 18 years in the future instead. Franklin’s tests proved that Sheridan is out of phase in time and can end up in alternate realities. Stephen already formulated a plan: find Zathras and get a time stabilizer. Before anything could be done, Sheridan jumps back into the past.
On Earth, John jumps to the year he took over B5, at his home farm with his father. As he was enjoying the scenery, a portal appears and sends him to Z'ha'dum 2256: the ill-fated expedition of the Icarus and awakening the Shadows. John attempted to warn the expedition not to tamper with the aliens in hibernation, but it was too late. The Shadows had awakened and went after the expedition crew but John jumps to an alternate timeline where he never commanded B5 but Jeffrey Sinclair.
The Shadows are overrunning B5 and John meets Jeffrey, giving a quick explanation on what’s happening. Jeff didn’t doubt John’s explanation and drafted John to make a last stand against the Shadows. Both John and Jeff agreed B5 is lost and the only way left to stop the Shadows was by self-destructing B5. As John struggles to blow up B5 with the Shadows after him, he encounters Lyta and G’Kar. Time was up and John was forced to jump without completing his mission, but Lyta and G’Kar managed to get the job done. The explosion destroyed the invasion force, giving surviving Earth Forces to flee.
John is now back in B5 in his correct time at Elizabeth Lochley’s bedroom. With limited time, John got Liz to give John a ride down to Epsilon 3 to speak with Zathras. Without needing explanation, Zathras figured out John’s situation and also showed that since they last saw him, The Great Machine has been replicating many copies of Zathras in the hundreds, creating the Zathri. Zathras explains that because of John’s constant shifting through time and space, it’s encouraging a dimensional collapse event, where all timelines, dimensions, and realities will fall upon each other. Curious why his jumps are seemingly connected to the Shadows, Zathras explains his time jumps are tied to his deepest thoughts and feelings. Because the Shadow War and his bonds means the most to him, he always appears next to a friend or a Shadow event. Before Zathras could stabilize John, a portal appears and sends him to a different reality.
John ends up in a reality where they lost the Shadow War. John finds Susan and Londo getting ready for the end. After losing the war, the Vorlons didn’t want the Shadows to have Earth and they decided to destroy it by pushing the moon into the planet. As the moon descended, John jumped and finds himself at The Rim, the edge of space, time, and reality. He meets an entity that takes the form of G’Kar, explaining where they are standing and John’s threat to reality. John questioned the point of his existence if he’s so dangerous, but the entity explains it would defeat the great experiment of consciousness. The entity tells John that possibility is based on love and its greatness can’t be so easily destroyed. John wanted to ask more, but he jumped again.
In another alternate reality, the Icacrus expedition never happened and Sheridan has peacefully commanded B5 without The Shadow War. Being unwell from constant jumping, he bumps into Lennier and collapses. John wakes to find himself talking to a younger version of himself and tries to explain his situation. Because the truth sounded too crazy, Lyta was sent in to telepathically verify the truth. After confirming his story, Zathras arrives to help John. Before anything could happen, John started to shift again. Zathras tries to help John by reminding him that he has influence where he jumps based on his feelings and he thinks of Delenn. It was then another portal opens, showing that Delenn has been chasing after John this whole time. John joins hands with Delenn and returns home.
Cast
- Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan
- Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova
- Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari
- Bill Mumy as Lennier
- Tracy Scoggins as Elizabeth Lochley
- Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander
Additional cast members include Paul Guyet as Zathras and Jeffrey Sinclair, Anthony Hansen as Michael Garibaldi, Mara Junot as Reporter and Computer Voice, Phil LaMarr as Dr. Stephen Franklin, Piotr Michael as David Sheridan, Andrew Morgado as G'Kar, and Rebecca Riedy as Delenn.[2]
Production
In April 2023, original Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski teased "Wonderful news coming", separate from the CW Reboot, after showing a new Babylon 5 logo on his social media.[3] The film was officially announced in May 2023, with more news set to come the following week. Straczynski further said that the film is “already finished and in the can” and that “it feels the most B5-ish of anything we’ve done since the original show.”[4] The film's title, first-look image, voice cast, producers, and director were revealed on May 10, 2023. The film was directed by Matt Peters, who previously worked on another animated film for Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, titled Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons. Most of the original Babylon 5 cast, including Bruce Boxleitner, returned to voice the characters they had previously portrayed. The film was produced by Sam Register.[5] On May 12, Straczynski gave an update about the upcoming Babylon 5 animated movie on his social media. Straczynski stated that a final update would be coming in mid-June, and would include the release date and plot summary, as well as a trailer and information on how to view the film upon its debut.[6] On May 17 the film was given a PG-13 rating.[7] Straczynski shared some first-look images of the film on June 10, 2023.[8] A full trailer and release date for the film was released on June 15, 2023.[9]
Release
The film was released on home media on Blu-ray, 4K, and video on demand by Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment on August 14 (UK) and August 15, 2023 (USA).[10][11][12]
References
- ^ Flook, Ray (June 9, 2023). "Babylon 5: J. Michael Straczynski Shares "The Road Home" Film Images". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ Couch, Aaron (May 10, 2023). "'Babylon 5: The Road Home' Voice Cast Unveiled (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ Lovett, Jamie (April 26, 2023). "Babylon 5 Creator Teases News on the Way with New Logo". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (May 3, 2023). "'Babylon 5' Animated Movie in the Works, Series Creator J. Michael Straczynski Says". Variety. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ Lovett, Jamie (May 10, 2023). "Babylon 5 Animated Movie Title, Cast, and First Look Revealed". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ Dodge, John (May 2023). "Babylon 5 Creator Reveals When the Animated Movie's Trailer, Release Date Will Debut". CBR.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
- ^ Snellgrove, Chris (May 17, 2023). "Babylon 5 Movie Gets Rating From The MPA And It's A Bit Of A Surprise". Giant Freakin Robot. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2023-08-09. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Bonk, Lawrence (May 3, 2023). "'Babylon 5' will return as an animated movie from its original creator". Engadget. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ Britt, Ryan (May 11, 2023). "Babylon 5's New Movie Could Use Time Travel to Resolve Its Biggest Cliffhanger". Inverse. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2023-08-06. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
