'Magic School Bus' Live-Action Movie Kicks Into Gear as Rob Letterman Hops on Board to Direct

A live-action adaptation of The Magic School Bus is finally showing signs of movement after being stuck inside Ralphie—sorry, we mean Universal Pictures—for the past six years. Writer and director Rob Letterman (Detective Pikachu) has grabbed the wheel and is taking the film on a field trip to the more hospitable environs of Legendary Entertainment, where the hazards he encounters will hopefully not include any more massive blockages. In more practical terms, Universal announced a live-action film adaptation of The Magic School Bus, the ’90s animated TV show based on the children’s book series of the same name by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen, in 2020. The movie was set to star Elizabeth Banks as Ms. Valerie Frizzle (“the Frizz” to the impertinent children in her class), a kooky science teacher who constantly puts her elementary school students in mortal danger by taking them on unsanctioned field trips to locations such as outer space, the Mesozoic era, and the inside of an internal combustion engine. To do these seemingly impossible things, she uses a sentient, size-and-shape-shifting, time-travelling school bus. After Universal’s announcement, the film seemingly stalled out. Turns