Netflix has embarked on an explorative journey to ‘catch em all’, announcing a brand new live-action Pokemon series headed up by Lucifer showrunner Joe Henderson.
Originally reported by Variety, no plot details have been revealed, aside from Henderson coming on to write and executive produce the series. Still, in the very early stages of development, it’s tough to get a real impression of what Netflix’s take on Pokemon might look like, though thoughts are that the animation style will be similar to that of 2019s Detective Pikachu.
Already the leading streaming service for each Pokemon series, including the classic Pokémon: Indigo League and the recent Pokemon Journeys, Netflix also has a range of films in their back-catalogue with Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You! and Pokemon the Movie: The Power of Us.
The 2019 film, completely separate from Netflix’s upcoming series, was a mixed back of overly stuffed nonsense and a dodgy lead storyline, though remained fueled by the colourful originality of the wonderful Pokemon universe. Director Rob Letterman stated at the time about his enthusiasm to tell a new story that didn’t just focus on usual protagonist Ash, noting, “They’ve already made many, many movies of Ash, and they came to Legendary with this idea of using a new character. So when I came on board, I was pitched this character of Detective Pikachu, and I fell in love with the story behind it”.
It came with an impressive, if visually jarring, Pokemon design which will no doubt be replicated to some extent for the new Netflix series. Comparing the design to Rocket Racoon from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Letterman commented, “They’re technically, some of the most high-end visual effects in the world… It’s completely photorealistic, like they are alive and in the movie”.
