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