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Leonardo DiCaprio Making ‘Captain Planet’ Movie – After ‘Before The Flood’, Appian Way Will Produce ’90s Environmentalism-Themed Series

By Patrick Frye
Published on: 04:01 PST, Oct 18, 2016

Leonardo DiCaprio, the actor who has long fought for the well-being of planet Earth, is now considering making a movie about the cartoon that promoted the same message in the 1990s. The actor’s production company, Appian Way, is reportedly planning to produce a movie adaption of cartoon series Captain Planet.

Actor, producer, environmentalist, and Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio is reportedly teaming up with film studio Paramount to bring Captain Planet to the silver screen. The green-haired environmentalist, last seen in 1990s cartoon of the same name, was one of the few who advocated a cleaner and greener planet and tried to get kids on board the cleanliness and anti-littering drive.

The two companies are supposedly in talks for the rights of the character. Additionally, DiCaprio’s production house is reportedly trying out multiple writers and possibilities for the script. Interestingly, Captain Planet is always depicted in the cartoon series as a clean-shaven and blue-skinned superhero, who is always polite to kids and respectfully tough on the polluters of the planet.

However, in the movie, the sweet superhero could have a rather edgy persona. Rumors about the character indicate modern-day Captain Planet is a jaded, washed-up version of the superhero’s former self. Large production houses like DC and Marvel have been regularly experiencing success with mean and menacing versions of superheroes who have a mean streak. It is apparent the current generation adores a rebellious superhero, who is not what the world wants, but instead, is the one that the world needs.

The script, which might not be final yet, could revisit Captain Planet years after the events of his cartoon series. The script is reportedly being written by newcomer Jono Matt and Scream Queens star Glen Powell. Citing a source with knowledge of the project, Hollywood Reporter claimed the following.

“The story takes place years after the adventures of the show, with the Captain now a washed-up has-been who needs the kids more than they need him.”

During his formative years, Captain Planet was summoned by combining the powers of the four elements; Earth, Wind, Fire, Water and the emotional element, “heart.” Each of the elements were condensed in the form of rings that were generated by the spirit of the Earth, known as “Gaia.” Each episode of Captain Planet would begin by explaining why Gaia chose to make the rings and hand them to a select group of ethnically and geographically diverse youngsters.

While the Planeteers do have their own side adventures with the help of the powerful rings they possess, more often than not, they need the help of their powerful, flying superhero, when things get a little dicey. During such an event, the youngsters summon the superhero by combining the powers emanating from their rings. The plot and story varied with each episode and even had multiple, colorful enemies whose sole purpose was to think of innovative ways of polluting and destroying the planet Earth with their evil schemes and inventions. However, the end of each episode was fairly predictable as the youngsters would summon Captain Planet, who in turn, would destroy the evil inventions and stop the pollution-based threats, without any blood, gore, and very little violence. It was a surprise, however, that the series did run for 113 episodes or six seasons, between September 1990 to February 1996.

This isn’t the first time a Captain Planet movie has been floated. Moreover, during the initial attempts to make the movie, Tom Cruise had agreed to voice Captain Planet, but for some unknown reasons, decided to back out from the project at the 11th hour, reported News.

Leonardo DiCaprio has always been a vocal champion for environmental issues such as climate change. He even used the limited onstage time during the Academy Awards this year to speak about the dire need of saving the planet and its inhabitants. Hence it is only logical that the Revenant star would be interested in making a movie about the superhero whose sole purpose was to save the planet and “bring pollution down to zero.”

Incidentally, Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary Before the Flood that deals with climate change comes out this month.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

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