Welcome to Ryme City. Home of pocket monsters, neon-lit streets, and a curious little detective by the name of Pikachu.
That is, in a nutshell, the set-up to Warner Bros. and director Rob Letterman’s live-action adventure, Detective Pikachu, in which the video game icon buddies up with Tim Goodman, a jaded Pokémon trainer desperate to find his missing father.
He also happens to be the only person in Ryme City capable of understanding Pikachu, and therein lies a hook – a spark – that will hopefully define Detective Pikachu and its heartfelt story. Indeed, it’s one that’s on full display up above, where you’ll see the all-new trailer for Letterman’s live-action bonanza. And yes, it seems this teaser was very much worth the wait, given it brings us that little bit closer to the movie’s Pokémon and their mystery foe.
Elsewhere, in the build-up to release, Detective Pikachu has reportedly been testing off the charts, while the general consensus appears to be that Letterman’s love letter to all things Pokémon will draw in a global audience through brand equity alone. Nintendo’s powerhouse franchise has been a worldwide sensation ever since it debuted more than 20 years ago, and by all accounts, Pokémon continues to evade the common pitfalls associated with franchise fatigue. Let’s hope Detective Pikachu honors that trend.
The only question left now is whether the Warner Bros. pic can rake in enough box office receipts to warrant a full-blown franchise. Disney has been banking on nostalgia for years with its live-action fairytales (see: Beauty and the Beast), so we imagine Detective Pikachu stands a pretty good chance of conquering the global box office charts in two months’ time.
Detective Pikachu makes a beeline for theaters on May 10th.
