Live-Action ‘Captain Planet’ Movie Set in Motion

When the superhero movie craze hit full swing, in the back of my mind I have always been waiting for someone to move forward with a live-action film version of Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Considering the timely environmental message of the series with action to boot, it's a shock that it took this long. Don Murphy, who produced the film version of our previous childhood favorite series, Transformers, and Cartoon Network are aiming to — with their powers combined — bring the green-haired eco-friendly hero to the big screen.

Cartoon Network (owned by Turning Broadcasting) and Murphy had this to say in a CN press release (via JoBlo):

“The messages of Captain Planet are even more relevant today,” said (Turner Broadcasting's) Snyder. “We feel this team can bring the world’s first eco-hero to life in a powerful motion picture that is not only pertinent but entertaining.”

“We are extremely excited about bringing the good Captain back to life,” said Murphy. “His adventures are known worldwide and he is recognized across generations. We expect to make a spectacular series of films with the amazing team at Cartoon Network.”

A "Captain Planet" film could be either completely inspired or a total piece of crap. It would take some truly special talents for it to be the former. The first glaring question, however, is whether the film will take a PG approach or go for something grittier. "The good Captain" as Murphy says, might be the cheesiest superhero of all time. It's hard to envision a good PG version, but even hard to envision a grittier version. 

I can see a film with young adults wielding elemental power rings (we've kinda seen this in The Last Airbender, which right there should be a warning sign) being rather impressive and creative, but once the slate-skinned scantily clad hero shows up Beetlejuice-style, who knows what could happen. I eagerly await to see what the studios come up with — and if this project will even take off.