Netflix Takes on Captain Planet with Live-Action Series from Greg Berlanti and Leonardo DiCaprio

Netflix is bringing back the classic 90s environmental hero Captain Planet, but this time as a live-action series. The streaming giant is developing the show with big names behind it, including Greg Berlanti’s Berlanti Productions, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way, and Warner Bros. Television, according to Deadline.

Tara Hernandez, co-creator and executive producer of the show Mrs. Davis, is set to write the new adaptation. The original Captain Planet and the Planeteers was an animated series that ran for six seasons in the 1990s on TBS and in syndication. It told the story of five teenagers who join forces with the superhero Captain Planet to fight environmental disasters.

Before this, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way had tried to make a live-action Captain Planet movie. The project was first started at Paramount Pictures in 2016, with actor Glen Powell involved in writing and possibly starring, but it never got off the ground. Eventually, the rights went back to Warner Bros. Discovery.

Powell remains enthusiastic about the project, especially after his success in Top Gun: Maverick, but he is not part of this new series. Jono Matt, who worked on the original movie plan, is helping produce the new show.

Alongside DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson from Appian Way and Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Leigh London Redman from Berlanti Productions are executive producers. Netflix has not commented on the project.

Captain Planet was created by Ted Turner and was produced by DIC Enterprises and Hanna-Barbera. It became famous for its strong environmental message and adventurous storylines about young heroes trying to save the planet.

Greg Berlanti is well-known for creating superhero shows, especially in the DC Universe on the CW network. This new Captain Planet show is Berlanti Productions’ second big live-action reboot of a Warner Bros. animated property for Netflix, following an upcoming Scooby-Doo origin series. Berlanti’s company also made the popular thriller You for Netflix.

Tara Hernandez has a strong background too, having worked for many years on The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon, and more recently co-creating Mrs. Davis with Damon Lindelof. She is represented by WME, while Berlanti Productions and Appian Way are with CAA.

This news was first reported by Deadline.

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