While Variety likened the project to 2019's Detective Pikachu Movie, no details on any potential plot were given in the report, and there is no suggestion at this time that the two projects are in any way linked. Netflix is currently in the middle of a big push to create television adaptations of multiple video game franchises, with The Witcher and Castlevania having both been breakout hits for the streaming platform, and series based on Splinter Cell, Far Cry, and Assassins Creed having all already entered production. Netflix's library of course already includes a number of seasons of the Pokémon anime, together with a scattering of movies.
Long suffering fans may recall the last time news surfaced of Netflix working on a live action adaptation of a Nintendo Property, when reports in the Wall Street Journal in February 2015 claimed Netflix was working on a Legend of Zelda series, which never actually materialised. Earlier this year, an interview with Adam Conover of Adam Ruins Everything gave new information, suggesting the Zelda series had been under production, but was cancelled by Nintendo (along with several other projects, including one Adam had been working on for College Humor involving Star Fox) because of the leak of information from Netflix. We can only hope that this Pokémon live action series, if it is more than insider rumours, doesn't suffer the same fate.
- Sources
Pokemon Live-Action Series in Early Development at Netflix From ‘Lucifer’s’ Joe Henderson (EXCLUSIVE)
A new Pokemon series is in early development at Netflix, Variety has learned exclusively from sources. As the project is still in its early days, no details are available about the plot. However, s…variety.com