A live-action “Magic School Bus” movie is in the works at Legendary with Elizabeth Banks attached to star as the zany and adventurous teacher Ms. Frizzle, TheWrap has learned. Legendary has acquired the rights from Universal.
“Detective Pikachu” director Rob Letterman will write a treatment and is attached to direct.
Producers include Iole Lucchese and Caitlin Friedman for Scholastic; Banks, Max Handelman and Alison Small for Brownstone Productions; Marc Platt and Adam Siegel for Marc Platt Productions; and Mary Parent, Ali Mendes and Cale Boyter for Legendary.
The upcoming “Magic School Bus” film is based on the book series by author Joanna Cole and illustrator Bruce Degen about the intrepid Ms. Frizzle and her class who set out on field trips to learn about the world of science in their magic school bus that can transform, shrink or expand in whatever way necessary to help kids explore and learn.
“The Magic School Bus” film is a production of Scholastic Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions and Legendary, and it will be the first time we’ll get to see Ms. Frizzle’s class on the big screen.
“The Magic School Bus” books have over 80 million books in print worldwide. The books were first adapted into the critically-acclaimed PBS series in 1994 that featured Lily Tomlin as the voice of Ms. Frizzle. The show aired for 18 years in the U.S. and has been broadcast in more than 100 countries.
An animated sequel to the original series, “The Magic School Bus Rides Again,” featuring Kate McKinnon as Ms. Frizzle’s sister, Fiona, debuted on Netflix in 2017, and Lin-Manuel Miranda sang the theme song for the show.
