The CW is now going full speed
ahead on their live-action distant-sequel adaptation of well-remembered Cartoon
Network series “The Powerpuff Girls.” With the experience of their production
posse which includes Berlanti Productions and show-runner Diablo Cody, they
might just make the plot of twenty-something former child super-heroines not
just work, but build an audience. So far the casting of the three lead heroines
in Chloe Bennet, Dove Cameron and Yana Perrault has been met positively.
Perhaps these new developments will continue the trend: The CW has given their
series a slight renaming, and they have also cast the leads’ creator/father.
According to Variety, The CW is now calling their live-action “Powerpuff Girls”
series as merely “Powerpuff,” perhaps to subtly emphasize that the title
characters are now grown adults. Next, actor Donald Faison has been cast as
Professor Utonium. As recounted in the original backstory retold in the
animated series opening, he is the scientist who tried to create the “perfect
little girls” with the “traditional” ingredients (Sugar, Spice and Everything
Nice) then made them superhuman by accidentally mixing Chemical X. Faison is
perhaps well-known as a regular cast member of the NBC (then ABC) medical dramedy
“Scrubs,” which ran 2001-10.
Production blurbs on Professor
Utonium as portrayed by Faison reveal his first name – Drake – as well as his
personality: quirky like in the cartoons, but also debonair and somewhat
narcissistic. He had not set out to make superhero children (just perfect
little girls), but was extremely proud of the end result and how the Powerpuffs
used their abilities to fight crime and evil in their hometown of Townsville,
USA. With the onset of adulthood however, the girls have left home and drifted
apart from him and each other, so the Prof wants them to mend fences and be
family again.
While original cartoon creator
Craig McCracken is not involved in The CW’s production, he has expressed
excitement for how the series will play out. Diablo Cody and Heather Regnier (“Sleepy
Hollow” and “Veronica Mars”) share both executive producing and writing duties,
with The CW having ordered “Powepuff” to pilot last February. Said pilot will
be directed by Maggie Kiley, although no premiere date has been specified
beyond the 2021-22 season.
Image courtesy of ComicBook.com
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