Babylon 5: In the Beginning is a 1998 American made-for-television film set in the Babylon 5 fictional universe. It was written by J. Michael Straczynski and directed by Michael Vejar. The film originally aired on January 4, 1998 on the TNT cable network, a couple of weeks before the fifth season of the series began.

The film tells the story of the war between humans and an alien race known as the Minbari, which forms an important part of the backstory of Babylon 5. The war begins as the result of a misunderstanding, and nearly leads to the extermination of the human race, but is halted by the Minbari leadership at the last moment for reasons that remain secret for over a decade. This near-destruction of the human race leads to the Earth Alliance commissioning the Babylon space stations as a means of preventing further wars.