Readers, will this be a normal field trip? With the Frizz? No way! Elizabeth Banks will star as Ms. Frizzle in a live-action Magic School Bus movie. Based on the wildly popular children’s book and television series.
Detective Pikachu’s Rob Letterman will write and direct the upcoming feature.
A version of this project was first announced in 2020, but through Universal. Legacy has now acquired the rights to the beloved Scholastic series and will be behind this new adaptation. And Banks was such a good choice for the role 6 years ago, why wouldn’t she be now?
The Magic School Bus books first launched in 1986, written by Joanna Cole with illustrations by Bruce Degen. The series revolves around Ms. Frizzle, a teacher, and her titular yellow school bus. Ms. Frizzle and her class go on wild adventures each episode, where her enchanted mode of transportation transforms into whatever is needed for this week’s lesson.
There have been two previous animated adaptations of the novels. The first is a well-received educational animated series that ran from 1994 to 1997. Lily Tomlin starred as Ms. Frizzle for its 52 episodes run.
Netflix then rebooted the Magic School Bus with Rides Again in 2017, which ran for 30 episodes over 3 seasons. That version saw Kate McKinnon voice Ms. Frizzle’s younger sister, with Tomlin reprising her role.
The upcoming live-action Magic School Bus movie is produced by Scholastic, Banks’ Brownstone Productions, Marc Platt Productions, and Legendary. There is no set release window for the film just yet. We’ll keep you posted on updates as the project develops, and hopefully, that won’t take 6 more years.
