The Powerpuff Girls live-action series planned for The CW has lost one of its main stars. Chloe Bennet, who was originally set to star in the upcoming series as Blossom, has officially stepped down from the role. The news means the series will need to search for another lead actress to play the character, but could it also mean something about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Quake and the MCU?
There are many questions to consider as Chloe Bennet was allegedly asked to extend her option so that Powerpuff (the name of The Powerpuff Girls reboot) could rework its pilot. Variety reports Bennet had a scheduling conflict, which forced her to step down from the role. The plan reportedly is for the series to search for another Blossom in the fall, while the rest of the cast is still in negotiations to return to reshoot the pilot.
Chloe Bennet evidently has another commitment that stands in the way of returning to Powerpuff, but what is that commitment? Her IMDB page doesn't hold any answers, which leads us to a tweet she responded to back in February 2021. Rumors swirled that the MCU was looking to bring back Quake with her own Marvel series, to which Bennet responded with the tweet "I wish." Could it be that Bennet coyly dismissed a rumor that was actually valid to avoid spoilers, or maybe someone at Marvel saw her interest and made a phone call to get in touch about making something happen?
We can only speculate based on what we know, and what we know so far is that Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s place in the MCU (which was admittedly already complicated) was seemingly removed by Loki. Loki, which is officially part of the MCU, explained that Agent Phil Coulson died in The Avengers. Many saw the move as a clear de-canonization of the events of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and if that was the point of the scene, it may be unlikely that Bennet would be offered a S.H.I.E.L.D. sequel television series as Quake.
With that being said, Loki and the MCU at large have blown the doors of the multiverse wide open. With infinite timelines and possibilities, it's easy to legitimize any past Marvel series as canon, including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Perhaps the series wouldn't be a part of the MCU proper, but a variant of Quake could exist in the MCU and be introduced entirely separate from that story.
There's no denying there are fans who would love to see Chloe Bennet back in a Marvel project, as well as part of the MCU proper. Bennet has also stated she's willing to return and play the role, making her the best kind of actor for these types of jobs. Unfortunately, we don't really know what Bennet's other commitment is, so we'll just have to torture ourselves with hypotheticals until we know one way or another.
Powerpuff is back to the drawing board and doesn't have a release date at The CW. For more on Chloe Bennet, read up on the time a fan-made trailer for a Quake show got some fans really excited about a show that hasn't happened but may someday.
