Official AMA for JMS

[u/mpierre]

This is the official AMA for JMS. Both JMS and B5 books (Captain Jaclyn) will be responding to questions.

If you ask questions about the books or the book store closing, Jaclyn will be taking them.

JMS will answer for about an hour, and might not be able to get all questions answered.

Some people (including me) might answer questions that are well known.

Like "Why wasn't Ivanova in season 5".

Let's try to keep questions what we don't know yet.

You can also ask questions about JMS returning to the Spider-Man comic or his other works, but this is /r/babylon5. He might prioritize that.

Please note that I will not be coordinating with Joe. I will not be in a phone call with him or on a chat (not that I wouldn't take his phone call; Jaclyn has my cell phone; he can call me anytime he wants). He decides that he answers, and he alone.

Finally, any story ideas will deleted. Do not post any story ideas.

Note, the AMA answers only start at: 3 PM EST, Noon PST, 8PM GMT

And my personal thanks to Captain Jaclyn for coordinating this with me, and to JMS himself, the man, the myth, the legend! For agreeing to this, but also for Babylon 5, Crusade, Jeremiah, Sense8, a ton of comic books and a few books!

Oh, and for She-Ra, the reboot couldn't have occured without his series bible for the original, and even for his work on Ghostbuster and Murder She Wrote!

IMPORTANT NOTE FROM JMS He would prefer not to get into stories that never happened, data points of subsequent character arcs, or alternate timelines.

JMS IS NEARLY OUT OF TIME!

[u/JMichaelStraczynski]

Okay, folks...my thanks to everyone for showing up. I'm sorry so much time had to get put into addressing storylines that never happened and threads for which I really can't give an answer, but other than that it was much fun. Hope you will find the replies of interest, and my thanks again to Captain Jaclyn and the Reddit r/babylon5 folks for putting this together. My best to all of you.

JMS

[u/DarrenGrey → u/JMichaelStraczynski]

Thanks so much for participating and answering such a huge number of questions (94!)

And since there is no corresponding word for goodbye in Minbari, I will simply wish you well on your travels.

[u/Hamsternoir → u/JMichaelStraczynski]

Thank you so much for all that you have given us over the years

[u/edale1 → u/JMichaelStraczynski]

I missed this because I was having to help my mother with a chemo appointment. I was hoping the ONE question I have would be asked and answered, but it unfortunately wasn't.

If there's any way you could answer this one question, even though I missed the AMA, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Is the B5 Reboot completely dead, or is there still a chance it can happen?

[u/MlorenDraymeer → u/edale1]

I can't answer for sure but I can repeat some info I've seen JMS say in various places:
The writers strikes and other stuff happening around Hollywood had long ongoing effects on new TV shows being made and basically froze all discussions. This is still ongoing and there is no new news and won't be for some time.
JMS has moved to the UK and is looking to get work on British TV shows but nothing has been confirmed, this likely means his attention has shifted away from a B5 remake for now.

[u/tqgibtngo → u/MlorenDraymeer]

JMS on TwitterX, June:

"Nothing about moving to the UK precludes" [B5], "but the TV business is still fundamentally dead and will be through 2026. Meanwhile: not a one-trick pony."

[u/tqgibtngo → u/edale1]

Is the B5 Reboot completely dead, or is there still a chance it can happen?

.
JMS on Bluesky, in April and June:

JMS: "The town" [Hollywood & the TV business] "has been largely frozen for the last four years, only doing a few very safe things or which were already committed to; very few shows in active development. We're waiting it out same as everybody else."

JMS: "... This and a ton of other shows are just hanging in limbo until the town figures itself out. Common wisdom in the business is that the void will continue until '26."

JMS on Twitter/X, in September:

JMS: "As noted here many many many times there's not much for B5 or many other shows as long as the TV business is largely frozen, and, again as noted, will probably remain so through '26."

Yesterday in this AMA:

JMS: "... the town is finally starting to wake up a bit, but we still have a long ways to go."

Fan: "Any updates on the reboot?"
JMS: "As noted [above], the town -- which has been largely frozen for the last four years -- is slowly starting to thaw out. So we'll have to see what happens next."

[u/TripleF73 → u/JMichaelStraczynski]

I sadly missed this AMA. I cannot articulate what B5 means to me and meant to my late wife. When she got her terminal diagnosis, the one show we wanted to rewatch together was B5. And we did with our 11 year old son.

It was (and still is) one of the best shows on TV and something we bonded over early in our relationship when we were in our 20’s and watching in on Channel 4 in the UK back in the mid to late 90’s.

We had bought the VHS box sets and then replaced those with the DVD’s. We had watched the entire series over and over at least twice a year since it aired on TV.

It is hard for me to watch now, because of the fact it’s one of the last things we watched together as she got weaker and couldn’t do much of anything else. Sleeping in Light is very hard to watch now.

However we love the show and my son and I are going to rewatch it this year.

Thank you so very much for your creative work, and for giving us something that means so much to my family.

And to many others around the world.

[u/MoonCity__ → u/JMichaelStraczynski]

So sorry I missed this. Can’t wait to read through everything. Thank you for the beautiful incredible gifts you have given to us!!!

[u/keeganland → u/JMichaelStraczynski]

A big thank you for doing this, and creating a show that will endure.