Fans finally got a closer look at The CW‘s live-action Powerpuff Girls series after the trailer leaked on social media this week, and they were not happy with the finished product, to say the least.
The technicolor trailer, which was uploaded and swiftly removed from the YouTube channel Lost Media Busters, according to Newsweek, has drawn outrage on social media for its depiction of the Powerpuff Girls as struggling adults.
The trailer shows the Powerpuff Girls struggling with adulthood after a childhood spent protecting the people of Townsville and using their stardom to secure brand deals and launch merchandise. The live-action series depicted Blossom as “constantly stressed,” while Buttercup doubled down in her rebelliousness and Bubbles became a heavy drinker. But, years later, when they return from their drastically different lives to visit their father in Townsville, the Powerpuff Girls are forced to reunite and protect the town once again.
Variety confirmed the footage is real but sources note, “The leaked footage would not have passed CW standards” and was likely a “rejected trailer from a third party.”
Users on X were openly critical of the series, calling it “insultingly bad.”
“Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea? We really dodged a bullet with this Powerpuff Girl live-action reboot. #ThisCantBeReal,” one user wrote.
“So glad they pulled the plug on this,” another user commented. “The premise of ‘adult Powerpuff girls that are disillusioned with their superhero childhood’ isn’t a bad concept by itself and could have been done really well – but holy shit this is god-awful.”
Starring Chloe Bennet, Dove Cameron, Yana Perrault and Donald Faison, the highly anticipated live action reboot was ordered to pilot in 2021 with Diablo Cody attached.
However, by 2023, The CW’s President of Entertainment Brad Schwartz confirmed the series was no longer being developed at the network. The show was “given back” to the studio so it could be shopped elsewhere.
Former CW President Mark Pedowitz said the pilot they shot for the series in 2021 was “a miss.”
“Tonally, it might have felt a little too campy. It didn’t feel as rooted in reality as it might have. But again, you learn things when you test things out. And in this case, we felt like, ‘Let’s take a step back and go back to the drawing board,'” he said, per TVLine.