Sony Pictures is looking to expand its superhero output beyond The Amazing Spider-Man franchise by snapping up the movie rights to Captain Planet and the Planeteers, with The Hollywood Reporter revealing that the studio is in final negotiations with producers Mark Gordon (Saving Private Ryan), Don Murphy (Transformers) and Susan Montford (Real Steel) with regards to a big screen version of the early 90s environmental cartoon.
Produced by DIC Entertainment (the company behind the likes of Inspector Gadget and The Real Ghostbusters), Captain Planet and the Planeteers centred on five teenagers from across the globe who were granted magic rings by Gaia, the spirit of the Earth. Known as the Planeteers, the five kids were tasked with protecting the earth from polluters and when things got out of hand, they combined their powers to summon the superhero Captain Planet.
Captain Planet and the Planeteers ran for six seasons between 1990 and 1996, with Hanna-Barbera taking over for the last three seasons, known as The New Adventures of Captain Planet. A live-action movie was initially planned in the mid-90s, while Murphy and Montford first began developing this latest incarnation in the late-2000s.
Originally published June 28, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
