"Leaked Trailer Reveals Canceled Powerpuff Girls Live-Action Series"

Back in 2023, The CW decided to pull the plug on a highly anticipated live-action series featuring the grown-up Powerpuff Girls, following a series of reported challenges. However, a new teaser video has recently surfaced online, giving fans a glimpse into what the show could have been like. The footage, which has been described as intriguing, was initially posted on the YouTube channel "Lost Media Busters" but was quickly removed due to a copyright takedown by Warner Bros. Entertainment. The three-and-a-half-minute trailer outlines the series' premise, showing Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup as young adults who have moved out of their childhood home. Blossom, portrayed by Chloe Bennet, is depicted as stressed and burnt out, while Bubbles, played by Dove Cameron, struggles with alcohol, and Buttercup, acted by Yana Perrault, is portrayed as rebellious and dismissive of gender norms.

In the trailer, the trio accidentally kills a human named Mojo and subsequently flees Townsville. Years later, they return to visit their father, Professor Utonium, portrayed 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 is filled with edgy humor, including a quip from Bubbles about juggalos and Buttercup's provocative remark about Jojo's vendetta against Blossom.

CW has confirmed to Variety that the footage is authentic, but emphasized that this particular trailer was not an official release and was never intended for public viewing. The live-action Powerpuff Girls series was first announced in 2020 but faced cancellation in 2023 after numerous setbacks, including an unsuccessful pilot and the exit of Chloe Bennet from the project.

Commenting on the scrapped pilot, 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."