Leonardo DiCaprio looks set to continue his determined highlighting of environmental concerns, with the news of a proposed buy-out of the rights to cartoon superhero Series Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The Oscar-winning American actor and philanthropist is believed to be keen to bring the 1990s’ television programme up to date with an ambitious new Film project in the pipeline.
Perseverance paid off for DiCaprio
The 41-year-old star was rewarded for his perseverance on the acting front with a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Actor earlier this year.
His portrayal of frontiersman Hugh Glass in The Revenant finally brought him the ultimate acting prize, after a string of near misses in previous years.
Utilising his star status to push his message
With an impressive list of film credits behind him, including the 1997 box office smash Titanic, Leo seems determined to utilise his Hollywood ‘A-lister’ status to promote global issues in real-life. In 1998 he began to cement his environmental credentials by establishing the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. The non-profit organisation was set up with a key focus on the promotion of environmental issues, supporting renewable energy sources, global warming awareness and the preservation of the planet’s biodiversity.
Match made in heaven
His interest in Captain Planet looks like a match made in heaven, with DiCaprio particularly vocal in voicing his concerns over Climate Change in recent times. It is thought that he would be looking to produce the Captain Planet motion picture should it go ahead, with the early suggestions being that the storyline would be brought up to date for the next generation of potential eco warriors.
Uplifting tale of defenders of the planet
Captain Planet and the Planeteers ran for 113 episodes over six seasons from September 1990 to December 1992 in its original format on American TV. The cartoon series depicted the uplifting tale of five young people from around the world who championed the defence of the planet from the greatest of disasters and sought to educate mankind to keep others from happening in the future.
The team is stronger than the individual parts
As Leo would no doubt endorse, the well-intentioned quintet are capable of combining their powers to summon Captain Planet when required. The super hero possesses the ability to harness the sum of their powers in a magnified form, thereby symbolizing the ideal that the combined efforts of a team can be stronger than its individual parts.
