The CW, purveyors of the DC Arrowverse, are looking to expand their superhero slate with a live-action reboot of The Powerpuff Girls. The network has a history of success adapting colorful kids' content into something aimed at adults, Riverdale being the most successful with its melodramatic take on Archie. Combining the two would bolster the primetime lineup with a recognizable IP and a mostly female cast.
The subversive superhero cartoon from animation legend Craig McCracken was rebooted before in 2016 but as an animated continuation of the adventures of the Utonium girls. Both animated versions of the show follow the trio of child heroes Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles as they attempt to balance family life with the professor who created them and their duties to protect the city of Townsville. While the original was a massive success for its witty writing and great action, the 2016 reboot has struggled to achieve the same popularity or acclaim, struck by controversy more than once and arguably failing to stick the landing with the introduction of a fourth, older, Black Powerpuff Girl.
According to Variety, the live-action reboot (perhaps inspired by Adi Shankar's Bootleg Universe fan film) will follow the girls in their early to mid-twenties. They're reportedly now retired and disillusioned from having lost their childhoods to the work of superheroes but may have to put it aside to reunite and once again protect the world from evil. The series will come from Diablo Cody, most recognizable for Juno and co-creating One Mississippi, and Heather Regnier, whose work includes iZombie and the Veronica Mars reboot. Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television will produce.
On the surface, this likely seems out of left field. The Powerpuff Girls was one of the crowning jewels of Cartoon Network's wild west beginnings, a singular subversion of the superhero genre that thrived on its absurd writing and the stylistic freedom of hard-line animation. In theory, a live-action reboot would defeat the very purpose of the original creation. Still, the CW and Berlanti Productions have a knack for recreating colorful IPs in their own image, and it should be stressed that the target market for the reboot probably isn't fans of that original cartoon. There's potential for some witty and self-aware ideas to work their way in, and the project has been given to what are probably the most capable hands available.
Ultimately, however, there's just as much, if not more, an opportunity for failure. Historically speaking, Riverdale is a needle in a haystack of disastrous attempts at forcing an IP to grow up (see Power Rangers or Titans), and even it has been consistently mocked for its writing despite its commercial success. The Powerpuff Girls left a lasting legacy on animation, marked by the sheer talent of its young staff (which included Genndy Tartakovsky and Chris Savino) and its commitment to pushing the boundaries of its time. Maybe a gritty live-action reboot is one step too far removed from the source.
Source: Variety