In 2023, the highly anticipated live-action series featuring the grown-up Powerpuff Girls was canceled by The CW after facing numerous challenges. Recently, a teaser video surfaced online, giving fans a glimpse into what the show could have been. This three-and-a-half-minute trailer was uploaded to the YouTube channel "Lost Media Busters" before being swiftly removed due to a copyright takedown by Warner Bros. Entertainment.
The trailer introduces the premise of the series, where Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have matured into young adults dealing with their own struggles. Blossom, portrayed by Chloe Bennet, is depicted as stressed and burnt out. Bubbles, played by Dove Cameron, turns to drinking, while Buttercup, portrayed by Yana Perrault, becomes rebellious and challenges gender norms.
In the trailer, the trio accidentally kill a human named Mojo and flee Townsville, only to return years later to visit their father, Professor Utonium, portrayed by Donald Faison. They encounter Mojo's adult son, Jojo, who has become the mayor of Townsville, brainwashed its citizens, and is now seeking revenge on the Powerpuff Girls. The trailer features "edgy" humor, including a quip from Bubbles about juggalos and Buttercup's remark about Jojo's vendetta against Blossom.
The CW confirmed to Variety that the footage is authentic but was not meant for public release. The live-action Powerpuff Girls project was first announced in 2020 but faced cancellation in 2023 after several setbacks, including an unsuccessful pilot and the departure of Chloe Bennet from the series.
CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz commented on the pilot's failure, 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."
