Captain Planet may take on the battle for the environment in a new movie by Leonardo DiCaprio, set to reboot the ’90s cartoon.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Leonardo DiCaprio’s production house Appian Way is teaming up with Paramount to buy the rights for a Captain Planet feature film.
Originally a 1990s cartoon, Captain Planet and the Planeteers was essentially a bid to teach kids the importance of protecting the environment from pollution. In the series, five teens from around the globe each had a ring representing one of the five (!) elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, and Heart. Together they formed Captain Planet, an eco-superhero fighting the big bad pollution foes. The voice cast included David Coburn, LeVar Burton, and Whoopi Goldberg.
Leonardo DiCaprio is himself a passionate environmentalist, and his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is dedicated to the long-term health and wellbeing of all Earth’s inhabitants, fighting against the extinction of threatened species and helping to rebuild threatened ecosystems.
Related: Paramount developing Nickelodeon super movie with all your favorite characters in one story
The movie will reportedly be a “subversive take” on the classic cartoon, with a script from Jono Matt and Glen Powell (Scream Queens) and produced by DiCaprio himself and Appian Way’s Jennifer Davisson Killoran.
In the movie, Captain Planet will be presented as, “a washed-up has-been who needs the kids more than they need him,” and under DiCaprio’s banner would likely feature a strong environmentalist message which — frankly — would be a nice gesture from Hollywood’s ever-expanding field of superhero movies.
If you simply can’t wait for this gritty Captain Planet movie, may we recommend this clip from the original TV series, which introduces the wonderful cast of diverse teens all working together for a common purpose (including a girl from the Soviet Union, because ’90s):
