Keegan-Michael Key Sets Sights on Battle of the Planets Live-Action Reboot

Keegan-Michael Key has become a bit of a go-to bloke for breathing new life into old favourites. You probably know him from Key & Peele – that sketch show he did with Jordan Peele before Peele turned horror director and took over Hollywood – but Key, originally from Detroit, tends to pop up in just about every reboot or nostalgic IP these days. The Lion King, Pinocchio, The Super Mario Bros. Movie – all those box office juggernauts, and there’s Key, right in the thick of it.

Now, speaking to MovieWeb, he was asked what franchise he’d most like to see given the big live-action treatment. His first instinct? Voltron. Fair shout, except as it turns out, there’s already a Voltron film locked in for next year. No rest for the mega-bots, apparently.

But Key didn’t miss a beat. He pivoted straight to another retro property:

'Battle of the Planets! If they could, that would be an amazing thing. If they would make live-action G-Force movies, that’s what I would like to see. That’s what I want.'

For anyone lacking Saturday morning cartoon nostalgia, he’s on about Battle of the Planets – the US version of the Japanese anime Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Basically, five teenagers in bird costumes (sort of) forming 'G-Force', fighting off invaders from the planet Spectra and generally saving the world in a dizzy kaleidoscope of late-70s animation. The show aired in American syndication from 1978 to 1980. It’s still cropping up in those 'Top 100 Cartoons of All Time' lists, so clearly it left a mark.

This is actually less far-fetched than it sounds. The Russo brothers – yes, the same Russo brothers who gave Disney a licence to print money with Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame, and a couple of Captain America films – announced back in 2019 that they were working on a live-action adaptation of Battle of the Planets. They last mentioned it in 2023, telling Collider they were putting 'a lot of creative energy into' the project. Now, if you’re wondering why you haven't heard much since, it might have something to do with the fact that the Russos are neck-deep in more Marvel projects for the foreseeable future, with two more Avengers films apparently arriving in December 2026 and December 2027. So, Key’s dream isn’t exactly off the table, but don't hold your breath either.

Meanwhile, Key isn’t exactly scrabbling for work while waiting to see if the G-Force gets its Hollywood glow-up. His run as Toad in The Super Mario Bros. Movie helped push that film to nearly $1 billion at the global box office, on a production budget of about $110 million. Not too shabby, that. And he’s moving on to something quite different next: a horror-thriller called Buddy, directed by Casper Kelly. The film co-stars Cristin Milioti (Palm Springs, The Resort) and Topher Grace (That '70s Show, BlaKkKlansman), and it made its debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival to good notices. The release date’s now set for 4th September, when it’ll be hitting cinemas.

• Key would like to see: Battle of the Planets/'G-Force' (live-action)
• Project update: Russo brothers announced live-action film in 2019, last mentioned developing it in 2023, but Marvel commitments are looming
• Key’s recent highlights: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Toad) crossed $980 million worldwide; next up is the horror-thriller Buddy, out in UK cinemas 4th September