Chloe Bennet Has Left The Live-Action Powerpuff Girls Reboot
Chloe Bennet has left The CW's live-action Powerpuff Girls series.
This article is more than 2 years old
The CW live-action reboot of Powerpuff Girls has run into an issue. Variety has reported that Chloe Bennet (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) has exited the project.
Chloe Bennet was set to play Blossom in the pilot. Due to issues with the quality, CW decided to reshoot and push back the fall 2021 debut. CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz considered the first attempted pilot a “miss”. It was decided that they needed a retry to get it right as it felt “too campy.” The reason the star is leaving was due to talks with the studio about extending her options, which turned about with the reshoots happening. A scheduling conflict occurred, leading to her departure from the revamped pilot. Casting for the replacement of Blossom will take place this fall.
Titled Powerpuff, the live-action reboot is keeping the rest of the cast as Chloe Bennet departs. Dove Cameron (Schmigadoon!) will still play Bubbles, and Yana Perrault will make her acting debut as Buttercup. Besides the title’s heroes, Donald Faison (Scrubs) as Professor Drake Utonium, Nicholas Podany (Hart of Dixie) will be a twist on the villain from the cartoon Mojo Jojo with Joseph ‘Jojo’ Mondel Jr., and Robyn Lively (Ouija) will be Sara Bellum. The cast is currently in talks to return if the show surpasses the planned pilot. You can see a photo of the originally planned live-action trio for the series below.
The original series was created by Craig McCracken as it ran from 1998 to 2005 with Cathy Cavadini (Johnny Test, Japan Sinks: 2020) as Blossom, Elizabeth Daily (Happy Feet, Rugrats) as Buttercup, and Tara Strong (My Little Pony, Loki). The series followed a science experiment that turned out three pint-sized girls with superpowers who would have to balance saving the day and their own personal lives. Through 2016 and 2019, a reboot series ran with McCracken still attached that starred Amanda Leighton (This is Us) as Blossom, Natalie Palamides (Duncanville) as Buttercup, and Kristen Li (Monster’s University). He had made a huge career with Cartoon Network over the years with other hit shows like Dexter’s Laboratory and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. The live-action reboot was announced in August 2020, and the leading stars like Chloe Bennet were announced earlier this year.
With or without Chloe Bennet, the series will take a twist on the original’s premise. Writers Diablo Cody (Juno, Jennifer’s Body) and Heather V. Regnier (iZombie, Veronica Mars) will show the girls all grown up as they are introduced in their 20s. It will follow them dealing with losing their childhoods to being superheroes instead of living their lives like normal kids. Cody and Regnier will also act as executive producers with Maggie Kiley, Greg Berlanti, David Madden, and Sarah Schechter. Erika Kennair will produce.
Chloe Bennet made her first big role in seven episodes of Nashville with Hayden Panettiere (Heroes), Clare Bowen (Hungry Ghosts), and Charles Esten (Outer Banks). She is best known as Daisy ‘Skye’ Johnson, also known as Quake, in the Marvel ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that ended after seven seasons. It starred Clark Gregg (The Avengers) and Ming-Na Wen (The Mandalorian).
