Netflix Is Making a Live-Action ‘Pokemon’ Series
Pretty soon you’ll have to catch them all on streaming.
Pokemon has been churning out TV series for decades. According to Wikipedia (which is never wrong) there are 1,156 episodes of the long-running anime. But this would be something a little different: A live-action series for Netflix. According to Variety, “sources say that Joe Henderson is attached to write and executive produce. Henderson currently serves as co-showrunner and executive producer on the popular Netflix series Lucifer, which is preparing to air its sixth and final season at the streamer.” They also note the show’s look would be similar to the recent live-action Pokemon film Detective Pikachu, which featured human actors in a world that also included CGI Pokemon.
Netflix already offers numerous Pokemon series and shows, including The Power of Us, Journeys: The Series, Indigo League, I Choose You, and Mewtwo Strikes Back, the second most famous movie about someone striking back after The Empire Strikes Back. A new season of the animated series, Pokemon Master Journeys, is scheduled to debut on the streaming service in September. Clearly, Netflix’s audience likes Pokemon and wants more of it. And Netflix is nothing if not good at giving their customers more of the stuff they like to watch.
Variety had no details about plot or casting, calling it “early days” on the project. As for Detective Pikachu, Legendary Pictures announced a sequel before the first film even came out, but nothing ever materialized. Perhaps this new Netflix series will fill the live-action Charizard-shaped hole in Pokemon fans’ hearts instead.