Netflix is looking to build on the success of the recent Pokémon Detective Pikachu film, and the everlasting lacklustre joy of the original anime show, with its own live action version of Ash's adventures. The series is in the early development with Joe Henderson of Lucifer fame, producing.
Netflix has had a number of successful shows based on popular game franchises, namely Castlevania, but it's also done well with Resident Evil, and The Witcher. Pokémon is the most successful cross-medium franchise ever, however, so the potential for success here is huge. Live action is a brave step, though, as it's not been tried in a series before and not with the might of a major platform like Netflix behind it.
That could be the secret to its success though, as Pokémon has the potential to cross many audience boundaries that typically keep people from becoming too interested. Netflix has also done well in the past hosting the original anime, and its crossovers and spin offs, Indigo League, and Journeys.
At this time, details about the show are very, very thin, with even the official promotional site saying that: "As the project is still in its early days, no details are available about the plot."
Considering Netflix is planning on moving into gaming in the not-too-distant future, too, it will be interesting to see if it builds on the potential success of this show with its own games as well.
What would you like to see out of a live-action Pokémon show?
