Kids are still stuck inside because of the coronavirus, and some of them might still be stuck inside when school starts back up again, so the idea of a magic bus that can go into space or shrink down real small for thrillingly educational field trips has never been more appealing. Perhaps that’s why Universal is working with Scholastic Entertainment, Elizabeth Banks and producer Mark Platt to develop a live-action Magic School Bus movie, based on the children’s books and various cartoons of the same name. In addition to producing, Banks will be playing Ms. Frizzle, the powerful sorceress who has managed to bend the Magic School Bus to her will—err, the “zany and adventurous teacher” who takes kids on magic field trips with a Magic School Bus that she has for some reason.
That description (and this news) comes from The Wrap, which unfortunately doesn’t have much other specific information to share. We don’t know what sort of educational adventure that Banks/Frizzle will be taking the kids on, and we don’t know if this will be some kind of self-aware modern reboot that comments on the history of The Magic School Bus in some way. We’re not sure if anybody would want that, but given Scholastic’s direct involvement, it seems like an unlikely path.