Classic Pokémon voice actress Veronica Taylor, who voiced the English dubbing for Ash Ketchum in the early seasons of the Pokémon anime, says she's available for the upcoming live-action Pokémon show. The show was revealed in the works at Netflix, with Lucifer showrunner Joe Henderson attached as writer and executive producer. While details of the plot and cast are still unknown, the show is said to be in the style of 2019's Detective Pikachu movie.
The Pokémon anime first began airing in 1997, one year after the initial release of the Pocket Monsters: Red and Green video games in Japan. The story follows a young Pokémon trainer named Ash Ketchum (originally named Satoshi in Japan) as he traverses different regions to become a "Pokémon Master." The game and anime were both met with massive success, spawning international localizations in regions across the globe, including an English dub for the anime. For English-speaking audiences, Veronica Taylor's husky-voiced portrayal of Ash is arguably as iconic as the franchise's electric rodent mascot, Pikachu.
Following the announcement of the Netflix series on Twitter, Taylor responded, "I am available" in a short quote-retweet. She did not elaborate on how exactly she wants to participate, but it's clear she wants to be involved to some extent. Check out her tweet below:
Taylor voiced Ash for the first eight seasons of the show before she was unexpectedly replaced by the dubbing studio from season 9 onward to keep production costs low. Despite this, her portrayal of the character has remained iconic, informing how the character has been voiced in the English dub for more than a decade. Taylor hasn't been professionally associated with the Pokémon franchise for many years now, but she remains an active voice in the community.
While it's a bit difficult to imagine Taylor playing Ash in live-action, that isn't necessarily the only way to get Taylor involved with the show. Her role could be akin to Lynda Carter's cameo in Wonder Woman: 1984 as a subtle wink to fans in the loop, but not so overt as to confuse those who don't recognize her. She could also even reprise the voice of Ash if the show somehow made the actual Pokémon anime canon within the show's universe. In any case, it would be poetic to see her play a role in the franchise's first foray into live-action television after being so instrumental to its initial foray into animation so many years ago.
Source: Veronica Taylor/Twitter