In the world of television and film, there are a number of projects that can get announced and terminated, disappearing into the ether like a thief in the night. Sometimes this can be the case with pretty high profile projects for that matter. An upcoming show might get touted for sometime and then you never really hear about it again. Remember the live-action “The Powerpuff Girls” stuck in development hell at The CW?
Well The CW remembers, and they’ve officially axed it.
There are actually a few planned shows that The CW gave the axe too, but “Powerpuff” as it was set to be called, was the highest profile of them. The show was confirmed in 2021. A month later, the cast was announced. The roles of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were set to be played by Chloe Bennet, Dove Cameron, and Yana Perrault. Then came the pilot, which was reportedly so bad, the entire thing had to be scrapped and redone. A copy of the script leaked online, and was raked over the coals by the internet for the dialogue and characterization.
During the retooling, Bennet announced she would be leaving the project, due to other commitments. Things went quiet for a while.
The CW President of Entertainment, Brad Schwartz was asked about the project’s status earlier this week. The answer? “We’ve already given those back to the studios, so they’re free to develop those and sell them anywhere,” Schwartz said.
The “those” he’s referring to are a female-led “Zorro” series that was being developed by Robert Rodriguez (different than the other “Zorro” series headed to Disney+, which is apparently still in development), a “Riverdale” spin-off entitled “Jake Chang,” and an “Arrow” spin-off called “Justice U.” The latter of these was supposed to star the character of John Diggle as he formed a group of meta humans who would pose as freshmen at a university while also being up and coming defenders of the world.
Considering The CW’s new majority ownership Nexstar has cancelled pretty much anything superhero related, it’s not surprising to see all these projects being axed.
Just because it’s not surprising doesn’t mean it doesn’t still sting a bit to see it happen. Even if the “Powerpuff” pilot was as bad as rumors insist it was, it still could have been salvageable with a brand that strong. And while The CW has turned its nose up at virtually anything and everything related to younger audiences and genre television, there’s still an audience that wants that kind of programming. Maybe these projects will turn up elsewhere in the near future and if they do, we wish them the best.
