Who voices Detective Pikachu in ‘Detective Pikachu 2?’

A recent Nintendo Direct presentation revealed that Switch players can look forward to a Detective Pikachu sequel this October, titled Detective Pikachu Returns.

For those who didn’t play the first game, this version of Pikachu isn’t the typical adaptation boasting the iconic mousey voice made famous by Ikue Ōtani. Detective Pikachu features a more talkative version of the character, who was voiced by Kaiji Tang the first time around. But you may be wondering who will voice him in the upcoming sequel.

Who will voice Pikachu in Detective Pikachu Returns?

Per the Economic Times, the voice of Detective Pikachu in the new game is none other than Will Arnett, famous for his snotty baritone in series like Arrested Development and films like The LEGO Batman Movie.

Arnett seems like a good fit for the role: His occasionally abrasive howls and screeches are often balanced by a deep well of melancholy when his defenses are down, at least in his most famous work. Remember: This isn’t the cutesy Pikachu made famous by most games and animated add-ons.

Heck, in the film adaptation, he was voiced by Ryan Reynolds, and audiences accepted that style of yellow fuzzball just fine. Speaking of the film adaptations:

Who will voice Detective Pikachu in the film sequel?

It’s been a while since we’ve heard any updates about Detective Pikachu 2. The sequel was greenlit back in 2019, a full five months before the first film even opened to surprisingly decent critical reviews and a total box office of $433 million.

Earlier this year, Polygon reported that Legendary Entertainment still considered the film to be in active development. A few months later, Deadline discovered that Legendary was in negotiations with Jonathan Krisel, co-creator of the IFC sketch comedy series Portlandia and the FX series Baskets, to direct the sequel. The same report suggested that Chris Galletta (The Kings of Summer) would pen the screenplay, filling out a new creative team for the possible franchise.

Still, most fans are wondering if Ryan Reynolds will return as the voice of Pikachu, especially now that the team behind the scenes has gone through a complete upheaval. We’re still waiting on that announcement, but the previous film may hold some answers.

How did the first Detective Pikachu film end?

For those who don’t remember or didn’t bother to see the first Detective Pikachu movie, the final act had some serious surprises up its sleeve. First of all, Rhyme City founder Howard Clifford turns out to be a terrible person who thinks humans and Pokémon should be merged, likely as a result of being in a wheelchair and wanting the freedom and power that Pokémon bodies provide.

It’s revealed that the reason Pikachu sounds like Ryan Reynolds is because Ryan Reynolds is actually trapped inside the cuddly yellow lightning rod. Well, not exactly Ryan Reynolds, but a guy played by Reynolds who is actually the estranged father of protagonist Tim Goodman.

The film ends with Reynolds in his own body instead of Pikachu’s. Thus, if a sequel were to be made about Pikachu, it wouldn’t necessarily require the presence of Reynolds at all.

So the real question isn’t “Who is voicing Pikachu in the movie sequel?” Instead, it’s “Will Pikachu even speak in normal human sentences in the sequel?” He will in the second game, so perhaps. And hey, why not just get Anrett for both gigs?

Pokémon fans have a lot to look forward to, regardless of whose voice comes out of their mascot’s mouth.