Don Cheadle’s Evil Captain Planet Returns In Tree-Making Web Series

The first time Don Cheadle donned the signature suit of Captain Planet, we knew it was going to be special. The resulting Don Cheadle Is Captain Planet video spread like wildfire across the Internet, racking up over 4 million views on Funny or Die alone. Now, the sadistic and malevolent version of the character is returning in a series of videos branded by Campbell’s.

In the original video, Captain Planet started out as the benevolent and pro-environment hero made famous by the 90s cartoon before turning into pure evil. This time around, however, Cheadle plays the antagonist right from the start, murdering scores of humans by turning them into various types of flora. Just as the first video spawned several classic lines, I expect “I heard you’re broccolis” to turn up in comment sections around the globe.

It’s unclear how many episodes this series will run for, but there will at the very least be a third part later this week

. Cheadle was previously attached to a Funny or Die series called Don Cheadle Is…, and it’s unclear whether this effort is related to that proposed three-parter, which would’ve seen Cheadle play a number of different characters. My guess is that the original Captain Planet video became so popular that it became a safer bet to just make more from that particular storyline rather than branch out.

In addition to its large view count, Don Cheadle is Captain Planet also received recognition from several media outlets. The short was nominated for the first ever Digital Content Award at the Environmental Media Awards, which it won (presumably by turning its competition into trees). Given the popularity of both Cheadle and Funny or Die, I expect the upcoming Captain Planet videos to be well-received as long as that creative team continues making them. Bringing Britta back wouldn’t hurt, either.