Back in 2023, The CW made headlines by canceling its ambitious live-action series featuring the grown-up Powerpuff Girls, following a series of reported troubles. Recently, a teaser video that offers a glimpse into what the show could have been like has surfaced online, creating quite a buzz among fans and critics alike.
The teaser was initially uploaded to the YouTube channel "Lost Media Busters" this morning but was quickly taken down due to a copyright claim by Warner Bros. Entertainment. Clocking in at three and a half minutes, the trailer outlines the series' premise: Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, now young adults, have ventured out on their own. Blossom, portrayed by Chloe Bennet, is depicted as stressed and burnt out; Bubbles, played by Dove Cameron, struggles with drinking; and Buttercup, brought to life by Yana Perrault, is shown as rebellious and challenging gender norms.
Official images of the three Powerpuff Girls from CW's live-action effort: Dove Cameron, Chloe Bennet, and Yana Perrault.
In the trailer, the trio inadvertently causes the death of a human named Mojo and subsequently flees Townsville. Years later, they return to visit their father, Professor Utonium, played by Donald Faison. Upon their return, they confront Mojo's now-adult son, Jojo, who has become the mayor of Townsville, brainwashed its citizens, and is out for revenge. The trailer includes moments of edgy humor, such as Bubbles joking about juggalos and Buttercup making a crude remark about Jojo's vendetta against Blossom.
The CW has confirmed to Variety that the footage is indeed genuine, but emphasized that this particular trailer was not meant for public viewing and was not an official release.
The live-action Powerpuff Girls project was first announced in 2020 but faced cancellation in 2023 after numerous setbacks, including an unsuccessful pilot and the departure of Chloe Bennet from the cast.
Reflecting on the project, CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz stated, "The reason you do pilots is because sometimes things miss, and this was just a miss. We believe in the cast completely. We believe in Diablo [Cody] and Heather [Regnier], the writers. We believe in the auspices of Greg Berlanti and Warner studios. In this case, the pilot didn’t work. But because we see there’s enough elements in there, we wanted to give it another shot. So that’s why we didn’t want to go forward with what we had. Tonally, it might’ve felt a little too campy. It didn’t feel as rooted in reality as it might’ve felt. But again, you learn things when you test things out. And so in this case, we felt, let’s take a step back and go back to the drawing board."
