The CW's upcoming Powerpuff Girls live-action series has gotten yet another update, just in case anyone had begun to assume the whole thing was a bizarre fever dream (still possible, granted). The show now has an official name as well as an actor in place to portray the titular superheroes' creator and father-figure Professor Drake Utonium.
First off, the name. In a move that's sure to make the world's entire population of gritty reboot parody writers simultaneously shout out "called it," the new series will simply be titled Powerpuff. While it's not exactly the most exciting possibility, it certainly gets the job done. But where the real news lies is in the casting of Professor Utonium, who will be played by none other than Scrubs star Donald Faison. No word on whether the good Professor will have a wisecracking best friend who daydreams all the time.
This news comes just under a month after Powerpuff announced their casting of the 3 lead roles, finally completing the set of who will presumably be the 4 most central characters of the series. Of course, given the premise, it seems anything is possible. The new show will focus on Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup once again, but as grown women in their 20s with more than a little resentment over missing out on their childhood due to the whole crime fighting thing. Just like the title itself, the idea almost reads like a parody, but that obviously doesn't mean it will be bad. Hey, people come up with comedy skits like this all the time. Why not make a whole series out of it? It wouldn't be the first time, courtesy of that dramatic retelling of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the works. (Yep, that one's real too.)
Professor Utonium's role in Powerpuff appears to be the one who brings the now grown up superheroes back together, hoping to fix his strained relationship with them in the face of his own mid-life crisis. Obviously, there's also going to be a big emergency that only the Powerpuff Girls themselves can solve. But remember, this is The CW. Superpowers are just another vehicle for drama.
Powerpuff looks like it will definitely earn some decent ratings through curiosity alone. Granted, it's not like fans of the original show haven't had a bone thrown their way now and then, what with the short-lived Powerpuff Girls Z anime retelling. Of course, they also had their hearts broken thanks to a decidedly poorly received attempt at a reboot featuring a similar art style but different voice actors and writing. So maybe some of the more dedicated audience members will be less inclined to give this new project a shot.
But hopefully it turns out to be something enjoyable. The premise alone is enough to perk up a few ears, and it's already got an impressive cast. So perhaps a nice "wait and see" approach will be best executed here.
Source: Variety