Leonardo DiCaprio is switching from Oscar wins to taking pollution down to zero. The star’s production company is teaming up with Paramount to bring Captain Planet to the big screen in his major motion picture debut.
It seems like a strange follow-up project to DiCaprio’s first Oscar win for 2015’s The Revenant, but the film actually fits him like a Captain Planet t-shirt. DiCaprio is a well-known environmentalist whose foundation funds several conservation and awareness campaigns. DiCaprio just screened the climate change documentary Before the Flood, and his production company is developing Sandcastle Empire, a young adult fantasy epic about Earth suffering the effects of climate change.
Captain Planet and the Planeteers was a short-lived animated series created by CNN Founder Ted Turner about a group of kids given magical rings that, when combined, bring Captain Planet to life. From the sound of things, the movie won’t be rehashing their origin story, like the rebooted Power Rangers is. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is probably going to take place years after the show’s original adventures with Captain Planet having to get his groove back after becoming a washed-up has-been.
DiCaprio hasn’t said whether he’ll be acting in the film, but it seems like he would make an excellent villain. Can’t you imagine him as a sleazy money-obsessed oil tycoon who’s determined to destroy the planet for profit? It would be awesome. Plus, it looks like the role of Captain Planet is already reserved for Don Cheadle. At least, it should be.
There’s a lot more to speculate on what we could see from a Captain Planet movie, but there’s also a lot to be excited about. It could star the original kids as adults, their children, or even a brand-new international team of pollution-fighting preteens. No matter what, if they’re going for a grittier, more realistic edge, there’s one fan video that could give them inspiration.
Better yet, put them together. By their video powers combined, it’s Sexy Captain Don Cheadle Planet!
