Has Leonardo DiCaprio Abandoned This Classic Superhero Movie?
Leonardo DiCaprio had announced he was making a superhero film a few years back, but could that film be completely abandoned now?
With the proliferation of superhero movies across Hollywood over the last decade or so, it seems like every actor and actress has entered this space in at least some respect. Gone are the days in which folks might avoid putting on the tight and cape of a hero because it seemed silly. Marvel and DC have “solved” that issue and now it’s almost a badge of honor to join the hero ranks. One actor appeared like he was going that route a couple of years ago, but that might not be the case anymore. Leonardo DiCaprio had announced an adaptation of Captain Planet all the way back in 2016, but it’s been almost total radio silence on that front ever since.
It didn’t appear that Leonardo DiCaprio was actually going to be sporting the green hair and aqua blue skin of Captain Planet. Instead, his production company Appian Way Productions had announced that they were negotiating for the rights to the character with the intention of making a big-budget, live-action movie. They had even pegged Glen Powell to pen the script. At the time, there hadn’t been any word about who would play the main character or his Planeteers in the production.
But now, almost half a decade later, there has been no word at all on what is happening with this movie. Leonardo DiCaprio and his camp have made no further announcements about the status of the flick if there are any at all. Back in 2018, actor Glenn Powell sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss some work and the Captain Planet movie did come up. Powell mentioned that they were working on it, even giving some details on how the script was going. He talked about how this story would be “subversive” and a bit darker in its approach than in previous productions. He even admitted that having a blue character with green hair had needed to have a “dark and irreverent” tone. The nature of the conversation definitely made it appear as if a script was, if not done, then at least close.
The announcement that Leonardo DiCaprio and company were bringing Captain Planet to the big screen was an exciting prospect to start. The story follows the titular character who is the personification of five natural elements (earth, wind, fire, water, wind) who fights to save this little blue orb. The power stems from rings given by the Earth spirit Gaia who bestowed them to five different kids. And when their powers combine, well you know the rest.
In the day and age of big-budget productions, especially ones possibly involving Leonardo DiCaprio, not having news for almost four years is akin to an eternity. Could this movie have been shuttered completely? Powell is set to appear in Top Gun: Maverick as well as Apollo 10 1/2. Meanwhile, DiCaprio has highly-anticipated productions like Killers of the Flower Moon, Roosevelt, The Devil in the White City on the way in the next couple of years. According to IMDB, Captain Planet has the “announced” status, but it’s been hanging like that going on half a decade now. It could be dead in the water.
