Deadline is reporting tonight that Rob Letterman has been brought in to helm Detective Pikachu, Legendary’s live-action Pokemon movie. Plot details remain thin on the ground at the time of writing, but we do know that the script, from Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch, follows the titular character and is based on the Great Detective Pikachu Nintendo 3DS game.
For those unfamiliar with the property, it follows the adventures of a talking Pikachu of unusually high intelligence, who joins a human named Tim Goodman to solve Pokemon-related crimes around their city. Why Legendary would choose to adapt this particular game when they could have more easily capitalized on something like Pokemon Go or the recently released Pokemon Sun and Moon is a bit of a mystery, but we’ll reserve our judgement until we learn more.
As for Letterman, he’s certainly a sound choice to direct the adaptation, as he’s seen great success making films geared towards children. He recently gave us the well-received Goosebumps, and is planning on coming back for the sequel, while elsewhere on his filmography you’ll find Shark Tale, Monsters vs. Aliens and Gulliver’s Travels. So he definitely knows his away around a younger audience.
With Detective Pikachu still in the very early stages of development, it’s hard to say how it’ll turn out, but given that the Pokemon series has sold 279 million video games worldwide, not to mention all the other merchandise it’s moved, there’s definitely enough of a built-in fanbase here that the film shouldn’t have too hard of a time hitting it big at the box office – if it’s handled properly, that is.
Tell us, are you excited to hear that the Pokemon property is being brought to the big screen again? If so, do you think Rob Letterman’s the right guy for the job? Sound off below and give us your thoughts!
