So, I know this is very unlike me (and if you’ve been active on the wiki a while, or maybe even around the time that I adopted it, you probably know that I like Rides Again) but I voted the first option. And you’ll see why.
Here’s my headcanon/theory/rant hybrid:
If the movie (the upcoming one with Elizabeth Banks) is successful, they’d probably greenlight another animated reboot, with the movie’s cast reprising their roles, of course (and this happens a lot too, with Matthew Lillard from the movies replacing Casey Kasem as Shaggy in newer Scooby-Doo titles, and the actors of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World reprising their roles as Sex Bob-omb in the recent animated adaptation to the comics, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off). The animation style would sorta resemble the 90s era, but tweaked a bit, kinda like the Animaniacs reboot and the Scott Pilgrim anime. And of course, the new show would be named simply “The Magic School Bus” like its franchise. Episode titles would be a lot like the golden era, where the Magic School Bus does things or gets (verb)ed. And let’s hope Nelvana or some other good animation studio is involved if this happens.
But, if we want MSB to once again reclaim its former 90s–early 10s glory, the movie is its chance to come back in the spotlight and be all the rage, and beat Harry Potter and The Hunger Games as Scholastic’s bestselling series again. And I believe I have to side with the Internet and say Phoebe and Valerie Frizzle have to come back. As much as I do love Rides Again (well, Season 3 at least), where Jyoti and Fiona Frizzle were great characters, I just know the box office numbers are gonna PEAK if Phoebe and Val make their long-awaited return. The internet is going to lose it and this franchise is going to become its former self again.
I mean, just think about what would happen if Phoebe was in the movie. A proper reboot, an OFFICIAL 1080p remaster of the original series (and maybe a Blu-ray release too?), more video games, more book adaptations of 90s episodes, even McDonald’s Happy Meals like they did back when the show was still going (when you found gadgets such as the Space Racer), We need to return to the good old days of the franchise, with a touch of modernity, and I think this movie would make it happen if it’s a blockbuster hit and if Phoebe’s in it.