The Powerpuff Girls Live-Action Series Trailer Leaks, Showing What the Canceled Show Would Have Been

In 2023, The CW's live-action Powerpuff Girls series faced cancellation after production troubles. A leaked teaser, since copyright-struck by Warner Bros. Entertainment, offers a glimpse into what could have been. The three-and-a-half-minute trailer from the "Lost Media Busters" YouTube channel depicts the grown-up Powerpuff Girls—Blossom (Chloe Bennet), Bubbles (Dove Cameron), and Buttercup (Yana Perrault)—navigating adulthood. Blossom is stressed and burnt out, Bubbles struggles with alcohol, and Buttercup embraces rebellion and challenges gender norms.

The trailer shows the sisters accidentally killing Mojo, fleeing Townsville, and returning years later to their father, Professor Utonium (Donald Faison). They confront Mojo's adult son, Jojo, now the brainwashed mayor of Townsville, seeking revenge. The humor leans towards the edgy, with lines like Bubbles' juggalo joke and Buttercup's comment about Jojo's "hate-boner" for Blossom.

The CW confirmed the footage's authenticity to Variety, clarifying it was an unofficial, unreleased trailer.

Initially announced in 2020, the series' cancellation in 2023 followed setbacks, including a rejected pilot and Bennet's departure. CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz explained the pilot's failure, stating, “The reason you do pilots is because sometimes things miss, and this was just a miss...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.”