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Legendary and Scholastic Entertainment developing live-action “Magic School Bus” movie starring Elizabeth Banks as Ms. Frizzle, with Rob Letterman directing
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

Culture/The Apex Times/Jun 23, 1:05 PM EDT

Legendary and Scholastic Entertainment developing live-action “Magic School Bus” movie starring Elizabeth Banks as Ms. Frizzle, with Rob Letterman directing

The companies announced a feature adaptation of the children’s book series The Magic School Bus, with Elizabeth Banks set to produce and portray teacher Ms. Frizzle and Detective Pikachu filmmaker Rob Letterman attached to direct.

2 min readEditor-approved Apex article

Legendary Entertainment and Scholastic Entertainment are developing a live-action feature film based on The Magic School Bus, the children’s book series that has long been associated with classroom science lessons. Deadline reported June 23 that the project is moving forward at Legendary as the companies plan a theatrical adaptation centered on Ms. Frizzle.

Elizabeth Banks is attached to produce the film and is also set to play the role of Ms. Frizzle, the teacher character who guides children through science discoveries in the series’ classroom-aligned storytelling. Deadline said Banks will both take part in the project’s creative development through production duties and appear on screen in the lead role.

The film will be directed by Rob Letterman, Deadline reported, with Letterman also writing the treatment. Letterman is known for directing Detective Pikachu, and Deadline described him as being “aboard” to develop the adaptation in addition to directing.

The collaboration brings together Legendary, a studio associated with a broad range of feature productions, and Scholastic Entertainment, which focuses on turning Scholastic’s children’s literature and other educational properties into screen projects. Deadline characterized the development as a partnership between the two companies to bring the established classroom series to a live-action format.

Deadline did not provide additional production details such as casting beyond Banks, release timing, budget range, or whether additional creative leads were attached at the time of publication. It also did not specify the current status of the screenplay beyond Letterman writing the treatment.

No distribution plan, studio timeline, or target theatrical window was included in the report. The next steps, based on the stated attachments, would typically involve moving from treatment to screenplay development, expanding casting, and then setting a production schedule and rights administration steps required for a major feature adaptation.

Why It Matters

  • The announcement indicates a continued push to translate education-adjacent children’s IP into theatrical feature formats, with development centered on a recognizable lead character.
  • By attaching established film creators Banks and Letterman early, the project could move more quickly into screenplay and casting decisions once development clears treatment-to-script stages.
  • The involvement of Scholastic Entertainment indicates the property’s publisher-backed pathway, which can affect how story elements tied to the original educational brand are handled for a mainstream film audience.

Sources

Key Facts

  • Legendary Entertainment and Scholastic Entertainment are developing a live-action feature film adaptation of The Magic School Bus.
  • Elizabeth Banks is set to produce the movie and star as Ms. Frizzle.
  • Rob Letterman is attached to write the treatment and direct.
  • Deadline reported the project’s development and described it as landing at Legendary as part of the studio partnership.
  • As of the June 23 report, no release date or full cast list was disclosed.