Back in 2023, The CW made headlines when they canceled a live-action series featuring the grown-up Powerpuff Girls after encountering numerous production challenges. Recently, a teaser video has emerged online, giving fans a glimpse into what the show could have been. The video, which surfaced on the YouTube channel "Lost Media Busters," was quickly taken down due to a copyright claim by Warner Bros. Entertainment. Clocking in at three and a half minutes, the trailer sets up the series' premise: Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, now portrayed by Chloe Bennet, Dove Cameron, and Yana Perrault, respectively, have matured into young adults navigating life away from home.
In the trailer, Blossom is depicted as stressed and burnt out, Bubbles struggles with drinking, and Buttercup embodies a rebellious spirit, challenging gender norms. The plot thickens as the trio accidentally causes the death of a human named Mojo, prompting them to flee Townsville. Years later, they return to visit their father, Professor Utonium, played by Donald Faison. They soon discover that Mojo's son, Jojo, has grown up to become the mayor of Townsville, brainwashing its citizens and plotting revenge against them. The trailer's humor leans towards the edgy side, featuring lines like Bubbles joking about juggalos and Buttercup's provocative remark about Jojo's vendetta against Blossom.
Although the footage is authentic, The CW clarified to Variety that this trailer was not meant for public viewing. The live-action Powerpuff Girls project was initially announced in 2020 but faced setbacks, including an unsuccessful pilot and the exit of Chloe Bennet from the cast. CW's chairman and CEO, Mark Pedowitz, explained the cancellation of the pilot, stating, "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."
