Chloe Bennet
Chloe Bennett (Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

And then there were two… The CW’s troubled live-action Powerpuff Girls reboot has hit another snag. Chloe Bennet has left the project, according to Variety. The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star was originally cast as Blossom, the leader of the trio of super powered sisters, alongside Dove Cameron as Bubbles and Yana Perrault as Buttercup. But after The CW reportedly rejected the original pilot as being too campy this spring, the series is currently being reworked and the pilot re-shot. That was apparently a problem for Bennet, whose schedule forced her to exit the project. The role of Blossom will now be recast.

The reboot, co-written by Heather Regnier and Diablo Cody, is based on the Cartoon Network’s beloved animated series about three pint-size superheroes who battle genetically modified chimps and kitschy devils. Apparently, The CW wants the new version to be more “rooted in reality.”

But reports that Powerpuff would turn the adorable she-roes into disillusioned twenty-somethings in a dark and gritty version of Townsville haven’t sat well with fans of the original cartoon. Nor did set photos of the cast’s uninspired costumes. And an alleged leaked script of the initial pilot that appeared online in May had fans damn near apoplectic. With all that in mind, it’s reasonable to worry that Bennet’s exit might be another indication that the show is doomed.

Still, despite going back to the drawing board, network reps have indicated they still believe in the project. “In this case the pilot didn’t work,” CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz told Variety in May around the time of the alleged script leak. “But because we see there’s enough elements in there, we wanted to give it another shot.”