THE POWERPUFF GIRLS Creator Explains Why The Live-Action Series Didn't Work

The CW attempted to develop a live-action adaptation of The Powerpuff Girls, but it was ultimately scrapped. The concept for the series would have caught up with Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, “who used to be America’s pint-sized superheroes but now are disillusioned twentysomethings who resent having lost their childhood to crime-fighting. Will they agree to reunite now that the world needs them more than ever?”

The series starred Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Chloe Bennet as Blossom, Descendants‘ Dove Cameron as Bubbles, Broadway vet Yana Perrault as Buttercup, and Scrubs‘ Donald Faison as Professor Utonium.

A pilot for the series was actually shot, but it didn’t turn out to the studio’s liking so the series was supposed to be reworked. Not long after that, the project was canceled.

Powerpuff Girls creator Craig McCracken recently talked to The Los Angeles Times and explained how he explained to the creators of the live-action series why their concept wouldn’t work. The mistake was turning the characters into adults because it just made them generic. He said:

"I had one meeting with them and I told them, 'When you turn them into adults, they're no longer the Powerpuff Girls because if they're adults, that's just three super girls who didn't have to deal with being kids. That's a completely different show."

And it ultimately didn’t end up working! Maybe they should’ve listened to McCracken. It’s funny how some of these studio creatives think they’re so smart with their ideas, when in reality the idea is bad, and they just can’t see it even when people tell them it’s a bad idea.