Warner Bros. has dipped into its stash of Chemical X in hopes of reuniting Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup for a new animated Powerpuff Girls movie.
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation teased as much as part of its presence at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (via Variety). It would be the second film to spawn from the original Cartoon Network classic series – if the company can manage to get it to take flight.
While Warner Bros. Pictures Animation is stirring up a Powerpuff Girls movie, the project is early days. No plot, release date, or casting information was part of the initial tease. In fact, it's reported that no official deal is quite in place yet, with Deadline adding that the company is actually still in talks to get the rights, for now.
The Powerpuff Girls have been through a lot since Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup first brought superpowered teamwork to Cartoon Network in 1998. No doubt a favorite amongst '90s and 2000s animation fans, the show saw the trio protecting the city of Townsville against villains like Mojo Jojo and Him until its final episodes aired in 2004 and 2005.
This original run also saw the release of the first and only Powerpuff Girls movie in 2002. Despite lackluster box office performance with a global total of $16.42 million (via Box Office Mojo), fans have looked back at it fondly in the years since. IGN gave it an 8/10 review.
Cartoon Network later announced The Powerpuff Girls would get an update with a reboot show that eventually went on to premiere in 2016. However, it failed to stick around longer than three seasons, coming to an end in 2019.
Things only got worse for Professor Utonium's kids when The CW announced it was developing a live-action show in 2020. First details for the project promised older versions of the characters played by Chloe Bennet (Blossom), Dove Cameron (Bubbles), and Yana Perrault (Buttercup) before it was revealed that the network would be reshooting its pilot episode in May 2021. When Bennet exited the show just months later, few were surprised to see the live-action take canceled altogether in 2023.
Now, Warner Bros. seems to be returning to the series' animated roots for what will, should everything go according to plan, become a new movie. For more, you can read about the trailer for the live-action project that leaked just last year.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
