Leonardo DiCaprio’s Captain Planet Movie Still Happening
Leonardo DiCaprio and Glen Powell are still actively working their way towards making a Captain Planet movie.
Way back in 2016, it was announced that Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company, Appian Way, was on its way to obtaining the screen rights for a Captain Planet project. Years have passed without much progress being made, but Glenn Powell says not to give up hope yet. According to a recent interview with ET Online, the movie could still be happening—“I know DiCaprio is super passionate about it,” he said.
“I’m super passionate about it [too],” he added. “I think it could be great… I want that one to work. I’d love to play that superhero [Captain Planet].”
He says that talks for Leonardo DiCaprio’s Captain Planet film could begin again soon, but everything depends, not on the actor, but on what happens with Warner Bros. Discovery.
In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery had a huge rash of layoffs and cancellations, most of which had to do with its streaming service, HBO Max. Shows like Westworld were axed before being removed from the platform altogether, and others were just never renewed for another season. The Batgirl film was canceled as well, but according to CBR, the restructuring should be finished for now.
So, perhaps things are about to get stable enough for Leonardo DiCaprio to make his Captain Planet dreams come true. It sounds like he and Glenn Powell sure hope so.
Leonardo DiCaprio was a huge fan of the original Captain Planet and the Planeteers series, which ran for 113 episodes from 1990 through 1992 and inspired a slightly more serious sequel series that aired from 1993 to 1996. Both series were about five heroes from five different countries around the world that joined together to summon Captain Planet, a champion for the Earth.
The show’s message of protecting the Earth from pollution and other things that would harm it has never been more pertinent than it is now in the 21st century, so it makes perfect sense that Leonardo DiCaprio would want to find a way to bring back the Captain Planet franchise.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Captain Planet project, though, is said to be a more “subversive” take on the source material, although we don’t have enough details to know what that means just yet. At one point, Glenn Powell and Jono Matt became attached to the project as co-writers, but so far that’s about all we know about it.
Leonardo DiCaprio isn’t the first Hollywood star to want to be a part of Captain Planet, however. The original series attracted tons of big-name talent like Ed Asner, John Ratzenberger, Jeff Goldblum, and Whoopi Goldberg, all of whom lent their recognizable voices to characters on the show.
It seems like a lot of people want the new movie to work, but ultimately the fate of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Captain Planet project depends on how Warner Bros. Discovery decides to handle their “superhero stuff.”
In the meantime, Leonardo DiCaprio will most likely continue to act as an unofficial Captain Planet himself, fighting against climate change as an environmental advocate. His Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation was created in 1998 and continues to raise money to fund projects that are changing the world and making a better future for our planet. The Planeteers would be proud!
