The Magic School Bus has been around for four decades, beginning as a book series before being turned into an iconic TV show starring Lily Tomlin. In recent years, Netflix aired a new version of the series. Until now, The Magic School Bus has only been adapted as animated projects.
That's all about to change, though. THR reports that Elizabeth Banks will play Ms. Frizzle in a live-action feature-length adaptation of The Magic School Bus. The project is being developed by Legendary Entertainment, the production company behind such films as The Dark Knight, Inception, Jurassic World and A Minecraft Movie, and Scholastic, which owns the publishing rights to the original book series.
Aside from starring in the film, Banks will also produce The Magic School Bus through her production company, Brownstone Productions, alongside Marc Platt Productions.
Rob Letterman, who previously helmed Shark Tale, Monsters vs. Aliens and Detective Pikachu, and co-created the Disney+ series Goosebumps, has signed on as director and treatment writer.
The Magic School Bus began as a book series by writer Joanna Cole and illustrator Bruce Degen in 1986. Over the years, multiple books have been released, such as The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks, The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth, The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body, The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System, The Magic School Bus On the Ocean Floor and The Magic School Bus In the Time of the Dinosaurs.
In 1994, PBS debuted an animated TV series based on The Magic School Bus that aired for four seasons and ended in 1997. Iconic comedy actor Tomlin voiced Ms. Frizzle (and won an Emmy for the role), a red-headed teacher who takes her students on epic field trips, including inside the human body.
Throughout its run, the show cast several famous names as guest stars, including Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Elliott Gould, Eartha Kitt, Swoosie Kurtz, Dolly Parton, Ed Asner, Ed Begley Jr., Carol Channing, Wynonna Judd, Rita Moreno and Alex Trebek.
Two decades after the show ended, Netflix launched a new animated series called The Magic School Bus Rides Again, which released three seasons on the popular streamer. Instead of focusing on Ms. Frizzle, though, the main character is her sister, Ms. Fiona Felicity Frizzle, voiced by SNL's Kate McKinnon.
Tomlin also returned as the original Ms. Frizzle, along with guest stars like Will Arnett, Sandra Oh, Nathan Fillion, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Now, 40 years after the franchise began, The Magic School Bus is heading into new territory with a live-action film adaptation starring Banks.
The actress is best known for movies like the Pitch Perfect trilogy and The Hunger Games franchise, and has appeared in Spider-Man, Seabiscuit, Magic Mike XXL, Scrubs, 30 Rock and the new Peacock series The Miniature Wife.
Through her production company, Banks has produced several projects and even stepped into the director's chair for Pitch Perfect 2, Charlie's Angels (2019) and Cocaine Bear.
Aside from Banks, no other cast members have been announced for the Magic School Bus live-action reboot.
Image via PBS
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