Following the recent casting of Scrubs alum Donald Faison as Professor Drake Utonium, The CW has added a new cast member for another major role in their upcoming live-action reboot of classic animated series The Powerpuff Girls, now been simply titled Powerpuff. According to Deadline, Nicholas Podany (Hart of Dixie) has officially been tapped for the role of Joseph “Jojo” Mondel Jr., who is the son of iconic chimp villain Mojo Jojo.
Podany’s Jojo Jr. is being described as a power-hungry and insecure nerd who was obsessed with Townsville’s original crime-fighting trio, despite his father’s grudge against them. As an adult Jojo finds his sweetness and rage in constant inner conflict. In the Cartoon Network series, Mojo Jojo was known as the titular trio’s biggest enemy. The character was Professor Utonium’s first companion, whose DNA got altered during the same lab accident that created the Powerpuff Girls.
RELATED: Ava DuVernay & The CW’s Naomi Pilot Enlists Kaci Walfall For Title Role
The Powerpuff pilot will see the titular trio as disillusioned twentysomethings who resent having spent their entire childhood fighting crime and struggling to reunite as the world needs them more than ever. It will be led by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s alums Chloe Bennet and Dove Cameron along with Yana Perrault, who are portraying the roles of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, respectively.
Click here to purchase the Complete Series set of the 1998 animated hit!
The project is being developed by writers and executive producers Heather Regnier (iZombie) and Diablo Cody (Jennifer’s Body) with Maggie Kiler set to direct the pilot. It will be executive produced by Greg Berlanti (Arrowverse), Sarah Schechter and David Madden via Berlanti Productions with Warner Bros. Television set to produce the project.
RELATED: The CW’s Batwoman Adds Krypton’s Wallis Day as New Kate Kane
The Powerpuff Girls was created by Craig McCracken and debuted in 1998, centering on Professor Utonium as, in an attempt to create the perfect little girl, ends up creating the titular trio Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup from the combination of sugar, spice, everything nice and the mysterious Chemical X. The series received rave reviews over the course of its six-season run and was broken up with a theatrical movie in 2002, which was a modest critical and commercial success.
