Trailer For The Scrapped Live-Action POWERPUFF GIRLS Series; This Would've Been a Wacky Show
The scrapped live-action Powerpuff Girls series from The CW was something that most fans assumed would never see the light of day. But now, thanks to a leaked trailer, we actually have a look at what this bizarre adaptation would have looked like.
The footage offers a full glimpse into the show’s tone and style, which, retains the same over-the-top energy and weirdness as the original cartoon. However, something about seeing it play out in live action makes it strange. It’s the kind of thing you’d might find on Adult Swim after midnight.
The animated series thrived in its exaggerated, hyper-stylized world. Translating that into a grounded, adult drama? That’s where things get a little weird. But, it also could’ve been fun. I’m a fan of weird energy.
From the trailer, the show reimagines the Powerpuff Girls as washed-up former heroes dealing with the aftermath of their crime-fighting days. One major plot point revolves around the team’s accidental killing of Mojo, who, in this version, is a human guy instead of the evil, genius monkey we all remember.
Years after this incident, his son Jojo has risen to power as the Mayor of Townsville, while the now-estranged heroines have moved on in drastically different ways.
Buttercup has become a firefighter, channeling her hero instincts into a more grounded role. Bubbles, meanwhile, is lost in the Hollywood machine, drowning in alcoholism while chasing fame. As for Blossom? She’s vanished entirely, retreating from public life after the trauma of what they did.
The Powerpuff Girls series would have caught up with Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, “who used to be America’s pint-sized superheroes but now are disillusioned twentysomethings who resent having lost their childhood to crime-fighting. Will they agree to reunite now that the world needs them more than ever?”
The cast included Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Chloe Bennet as Blossom, Descendants‘ Dove Cameron as Bubbles, Broadway vet Yana Perrault as Buttercup, and Scrubs‘ Donald Faison as Professor Utonium, as well as other cast.
A pilot for the series was actually shot, but it didn’t turn out to the studio’s liking so the series was supposed to be reworked. After that, there was radio silence on the series.
Former The CW president Mark Pedowitz previously explained in 2021: "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 [Bros. TV] studios."
Pedowitz continued: "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."
Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think!
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