‘Captain Planet and the Planeteers’ Live-Action Series Set at Netflix

“Captain Planet and the Planeteers,” an animated TBS series from the ’90s about an environmentalist superhero, is being adapted into a live-action series at Netflix with Greg Berlanti and Leonardo DiCaprio as executive producers.

Netflix declined to comment on the adaptation, though Variety has confirmed the news with sources.

Tara Hernandez, best known for creating “Mrs. Davis” on Peacock and writing on “The Big Bang Theory” and “Young Sheldon,” is writing the “Captain Planet” series. Executive producers include Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Leigh London Redman via Berlanti Productions and DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson via Appian Way. Warner Bros. Television, where Berlanti Productions is under an overall deal, is the studio.

The 1990s-era Captain Planet cartoons “Captain Planet and the Planeteers” and “The New Adventures of Captain Planet” were produced by DIC entertainment and Hanna-Barbera and aired on TBS and in syndication from 1990 to 1996. The character was the brainchild of Barbara Pyle and Turner founder Ted Turner, who wanted to address environmental issues and attract young viewers by placing those themes inside a story of superheroes and villains. That show featured voice actors including Ed Asner, Whoopi Goldberg and LeVar Burton.

“Captain Planet” has been in development as a live-action adaptation in many forms over the years. Glen Powell had previously been writing a “Captain Planet” movie for DiCaprio, first revealed in 2018 and as recently as 2023 he told reporters that his “subversive and fun and dark and irreverent” take was still in development. In 2011, “Transformers” film franchise producers Don Murphy and Susan Montford pacted with Cartoon Network to develop a live-action feature based on the character.

According to the Captain Planet Foundation, “In the show, Gaia, the spirit of the planet, assembles a team of five young ‘planeteers’ from nations around the world, who can summon Captain Planet to help them solve ecological and other global problems ‘by their powers combined.’ The show was widely acclaimed for its treatment difficult issues such as pollution, poaching, deforestation, as well as more social issues including drug addiction, HIV/ AIDS, and bullying in a way that educated, entertained, but also activated its young audience.”