Jul 20, 2011 14:02 GMT  ·  By
“Captain Planet” gets the film treatment, will be made into live-action feature
   “Captain Planet” gets the film treatment, will be made into live-action feature

It was bound to happen: given the impressive number of recent releases based on comic books, fans of the original “Captain Planet” cartoon series were probably wondering when their favorite environmentalist superhero would also be getting the film treatment.

As it turns out, the answer to the above question is “soon.” Deadline reports that Cartoon Network and a handful of famed producers are now working on the project.

The idea is to take the popular cartoon series and turn it into a live-action film, one that will probably be enough of a hit with audiences to serve as the starting point of a new franchise.

“Producers Don Murphy and Susan Montford, who are coming off Transformers: Dark of the Moon and the upcoming Shawn Levy-directed Hugh Jackman-starrer Real Steel, have signed a deal with Cartoon Network to develop a live-action adventure theatrical feature based on Captain Planet,” Deadline writes.

For those who don’t remember, “he’s the animated Ted Turner-created environment-saving hero who was first introduced in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers,” the same media outlet notes.

“We are extremely excited about bringing the good captain back to life,” Murphy tells Deadline in a statement confirming the happy news. He adds that the idea is to make this into a successful franchise.

“[The Captain’s] adventures are known worldwide and he is recognized across generations,” Murphy adds.

For the time being, these are all the details revealed to the press about the film. No estimated release date or possible casting options have been released.

Nevertheless, this is more than enough to keep fans of the original cartoon going until more info emerges. Reaction to the announcement has been amazing so far.

In fact, earlier today, “Captain Planet” was trending on Twitter, with many voicing their joy that he’s finally getting the film treatment.

Others, though, say Hollywood should stop trying to remake and reboot classics – and just come up with an original idea for once.